Lost Brother
by Sith Jesto
Summary: Daniel touch something alien, causing Jack to deage. The NID will come too ...Warnings: crossoverNCIS, deagedJack. Previously know as 'untitled yet'
1. Chapter 1

**Lost Brother – Chapter 1**

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_**I would like to thank my Beta**_**zeilfanaat**_** for her hard work, and patient which made this story easier to read and enjoy. **_

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"Daniel don't…" Colonel Jack O'Neill's warning arrived too late, because the young archeologist just touched the symbol on the wall. Pale yellow light slowly surrounded Daniel, who was so mesmerized by the light, that he did not even attempt to move out of harm's way. Jack, without thinking did the only think he could do and pushed the younger man from out of the light. Just in time it seemed; the yellowish colour changed to pale blue before white light exploded, momentarily blinding everyone in the room. Daniel sat unmoving on the cold floor, his eyes transfixed on the pile of clothes which lay where moments ago his friend had been. He absentmindedly noticed the noise of running feet as his other friends arrived. Only Sam's urgent, almost panicked voice was able to pull him back to the reality.

"Daniel, what happened? Daniel, answer me. Daniel."

"I am alright, Sam," whispered Daniel, a shiver running through his frame, as his gaze landed on the clothes, beside which Teal'c kneeled while studying them. "Sam?!" Daniel hated to sound so desperate and frightened but could not help it; he needed his friends to tell him everything would be fine, that Jack is alright. But when his gaze met Sam's, his hopes died.

"Major Carter, Danile Jackson," called out Teal'c deep baritone. The two scientist got to their feet and hurried to their comrade's side. What they saw there, rendered them speechless. Inside the clothes lay a small unconscious, honey-brown haired boy.

"Holly Hanna. This the Colonel?" Sam sounded breathless from amazement and shock.

"Major Carter, It would be best to head back to the base."

"Yeah." Sam finally was able to tear her gaze away from the child, and compose herself enough to take over the command. "Daniel grab the Colonel's pack, Teal'c you take the child, and I've got his weapons."

Without another word, they set out to make there way back to the Gate. Unconsciously, their gaze wandered to the child every now and then; in all of their minds there were the same questions. _Could this child be the Colonel? If not, where was he now? Who was the kid? If yes, how to make him back to normal? Would they able to help him? Would their allies help?_ So many question, without the answers.

----------- Infirmary ----------------

"Would someone tell me how is this happened?" snapped Hammond. The General wasn't a happy camper; Hammond book had seen many strange, even impossible things over the years he had worked with SGC, but this, this took the cake, so far.

"It was my fault General," mumbled Daniel, as he stood with his team, hugging himself. Hammond felt a headache coming. He sighed and tried to take on a calmer voice.

"What happened?"

"Uhm, I was just about to touch the symbol on the wall, when I heard Jack's warning to not touch it, but I couldn't stop. Some kind of yellow light got out of the wall, and I don't know, it was kind of surreal, like a dream. I knew where I was, and who I was, but couldn't move or look away." Daniel shuddered at the memory, his blue eyes cast down to the floor. "Jack pushed me out of the way, and then there was a white light. I didn't see what happened, …" he trailed off, and Sam took over.

"Colonel O'Neill sent Teal'c and me to explore the Temple's surrounding and get soil samples. We were just heading back when we saw a white light flash out of the Temple's door. When we arrived, Daniel was almost catatonic; he didn't respond at first. And we, Teal'c found the boy in Colonel O'Neill's clothes, sir."

"Thank you, Major Carter. Dr Jackson, it was not your fault. If Colonel O'Neill would be here, he would tell you the same."

"Thank you, sir."

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Doctor Fraiser pulled away the curtain as she stepped away from the boy's bed. She noticed the waiting group, and headed toward them.

"General. Sir, the DNA analysis is just finished; it confirmed he is Colonel O'Neill."

"Can it be reversed?"

"Sir, with all due respect, we did not even know what did it, we can't detect any anomaly." Doctor Fraiser sounded frustrated.

"I understand, Doctor." General Hammond nodded, as he studied the sleeping figure. A thought occurred to him. "Will he be the Colonel O'Neill we know when he wakes up, or will he have become a child?"

"We won't know until he wakes up."

"Inform me if there is any change in his condition. I will be in my office." With a last glance at his 2IC's sleeping childish face, he turned around and left the infirmary. The remaining members of SG-1 took up their position around the bed to wait for their friend to wake up.

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Jack O'Neill slowly woke up. He knew he was in the infirmary again; he could smell its unique smell as soon as he woke up, but he couldn't tell how he had managed to do it again. _Oh man, he was getting too old for this job._ He cracked open his eyes, and felt panic rising up in his chest. _Shit. Everything looked so much larger, what the hell could have happened?_ Jack mused to himself. He saw Daniel sleeping in the chair next to his bed, while Teal'c was practicing kel-no'rim, and Sam was sleeping on one of the infirmary beds in her BDU. That was good; it mean nobody got hurt, well expect from him.

He slowly pulled himself in sitting position to be able to study himself. His whole body looked not just smaller, but somehow younger. He felt his throat closing up as he became aware that his body had somehow become younger, like in Argos, except there he became older. But, no problem, Doc would find a solution, with Carter's and Danny-boy's help, to make it disappear, right?? He had the sinking feeling it wouldn't be that easy, but he shook down the thought. After all, he was the 'glass-half-full' type of guy. He spotted a metal tray on the nearby table. He held it up to see himself better. He looked even younger than he thought. He couldn't help but grimace.

"I see you're awake O'Neill." Teal'c's deep voice made him jump. For a big guy, T really knew how to move without making a noise.

"T, don't do that again, you gave me a heart attack." Even his voice sounded young and childish. Teal'c arched an eyebrow at his statement, clearly not believing in the possibility of Jack's words.

Teal'c's voice alerted their other team-mates as well as Doc Fraiser, to Jack's awakening. They soon circled around him, asking a ton of questions. He was saved from answering them all, when General Hammond stalked into the room.

"Colonel O'Neill, how are you feeling?"

"Thank you, sir, I am fine."

"Doctor Fraiser reported you are aware of who you are and what's going on."

"Yes sir, I remember everything, to the best of my knowledge. Only the part of how I landed here is a bit fuzzy, sir." Jack noticed that Daniel started to study his hands with interest, so he had a good bet about what could have gone wrong. In the meanwhile, the others explained to him what had happened, and why they didn't think he would regain his old body in the near future.

"So what now?" he asked.

"Son," started the General. That was not good. George only called him that if he was in trouble, or the situation was very dire. "We asked for both the Asgard's and the Tok'ra's help; we're waiting for their reply. Until then you will stay here on the base."

"Yes sir."

----------------

The moment one of the nurses got some jeans and a T-shirt for Jack, Doc kicked him out, saying he was even worse of a patient now than when he was older. That was fine with Jack; the less time he spent in the Infirmary the better. But with his team on a mission back on PX-95124 where he was kiddyficated, he couldn't use his usually distractions – alias bugging Daniel, playing with Carter's cool toys, or practicing with T. He was bored, and a bored Jack O'Neill was a dangerous thing.

But luckily Lou Ferretti ran into him, and he managed to get Lou to help him find some entertainment; not that he needed to bug Ferretti too hard. Their first mission was to sneak into the kitchen, steal some ice-cream, and retreat back to Lou's office. General Hammond caught them red handed, when they attempt to get back in Ferretti's office. Hammond face was a mix of emotions, like he could not decide to be angry at them or start laughing. In the end he decided to do the second.

Jack and Lou decided they had caused enough trouble for the day, and went back to Jack's room to watch TV. Of course they _borrowed_ one first from one of the VIP suites.

SG-1 got back the next day. Daniel had taped the writings in the Temple, and Carter had made some scientific object with energy readings or something, Jack wasn't sure. He had fallen asleep during the briefing at one point. To sum up, they weren't wiser than before they had gone back, and General Hammond ordered the planet to be flagged out for now, until they knew more about what had happened and how to reverse it.

There wasn't much to do. Sam started to analyze the sample she had brought back, and Daniel and his team started to translate the writing without much success. Teal'c helped Jack to practice some moves, but it became clear that his 6-year-old body wasn't capable of the same things as his older body was. But it was a good distraction for Jack.

Everything looked fine, until a week later when the Colonel Simons and the NID arrived.


	2. Chapter 2

**Beta: **zeilfanaat

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**Chapter 2**

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The news of the NID's arrival spread like wildfire. Within minutes, as the gate security called down to notify General Hammond of Colonel Simmons' and companions' arrival, the whole base knew about it. There was no question within anyone's mind as to what had caused the NID to suddenly show up; the only thing worth mentioning was Colonel O'Neill's _accidental _age loss.

The NID's members got distracted and/or held up at every turn as they made their way down, and their accidental delays gave General Hammond enough time to make a call for SG-1 and Doctor Frasier to come immediately to the meeting room. Only Daniel Jackson and Jack O'Neill didn't manage to make it to the room before the NID arrived.

"General Hammond, we have orders to investigate Colonel O'Neill's condition and to take him in the NID's custody."

"Colonel Simmons, I won't allow you to take Colonel O'Neill away just to indulge your curiosity," snapped Hammond, irritation clearly noticeable in his voice.

"You misinterpret me sir, it's not an option. Colonel O'Neill will become the NID's ward. He knows too much classified information to let him loose, or lose him to the enemy. And the SGC is counted as a war-zone, where a hostile attack is more than possible. Taking into account the Colonel's current state, he isn't in the position to protect himself. This way he has become a liability to not just this base, but to Earth as well."

General Hammond noticed Daniel looked into the meeting room, not longafter the NID's members had arrived. He was sure the young archaeologist could hear every word they said. He also knew he couldn't just hand Jack over to the NID, so he listened carefully to Simmons' little speech. He didn't need to ponder much about what step he needed to make, he just hoped they would be able to make it work.

"The Colonel O'Neill we know is no more, in every way he is a six year old child. His every memory and knowledge end with what he knew when he was really a six year old."

"We will see. Maybe the Colonel will regain some of his memories with the convenient methods…"

"Colonel Simmons, with all due respect sir. You can't mean to question a six year old child," protested Doctor Frasier, her eyes glinting dangerously. She was ready to protect O'Neill with her own life if necessary.

"We will do what we need to do," promised Simmons, in his arrogant voice. His superiority didn't last long.

"I advice you, ColonelSimmons to abort this type of plan." Teal'c stepped threateningly closer toward the man in question, making him pale significantly.

"Are you threatening me?!" spluttered Simmons, and his gaze flickered toward Hammond in hope that the General would call Teal'c back.

"Indeed." Teal'c's response was enough to scare Simmons' companion to take a step back from the big Jaffa. At times like this, Hammond had no doubt why Apophis had chosen him as First Prime.

"Where is O'Neill anyway?" As soon as Simmons asked, Daniel ran into the room, with Jack in his arms, the boy's head resting on Jackson's shoulder. For a moment, George himself almost believed that Jack was a real child. He saw a bewildered look cross both of his Majors faces, before they masked it well. Teal'c didn't even blink.

"Sorry General, for being late, but we had a bit of an accident," explained Daniel while he shifted the child in his arms. Jack buried his face in Daniel's shirt as if he was embarrassed, hiding his face from everyone in the room.

"It's alright, Doctor Jackson. Why won't we sit down before we continue." Hammond directed the last part to everyone in the room, and Daniel settled down in his usual chair with Jack in his lap.

"As I was saying, we would like to be sure of Colonel O'Neill's state of mind, and further investigate the incident."

"I have no objection for the examination; my terms are that at least one member of SG-1 and Doctor Frasier be present as well, and that the examination take place here, at the SGC."

"Of course, General."

"Doctor Frasier will escort you to one of our exam room." The NID members stood to leave, as well as Frasier and Daniel who still carried the unusually quiet Jack. Before the group could leave the room Hammond called after Simmons. "Colonel, leave your orders here. Doctor Jackson, you should stay as well. Teal'c will accompany young Jack."

"Indeed." Teal'c was instantly by Daniel's side, taking hold of Jack's small body, and moved after the small group.

"Of course, sir." Simmons looked a bit uncomfortable, but did just as he was told, before he followed his companions as well.

General looked at the 'Wonder Twins' as his 2IC like to call them, and hoped that they would be able to work out something short of miracle this time too.

"We haven't got too much time to find a solution before the NID claims custody of Jack. I highly doubt they would leave him here, even if they did believe in our claim that he is no more than just an ordinary six year old."


	3. Chapter 3

**Beta: **zeilfanaat

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** Chapter 3  
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Doc Frasier, Teal'c, Jack and the members of the NID moved into one of the exam rooms. After a good twenty minutes of probing and poking by the doctor who accompanied the NID-group, Simmons ordered the start of the questioning. The NID had brought a modified lie-detector along, as one of the NID officers explained, after Teal'c had stepped toward him threateningly. Jack knew this was a good time to start trying to act as a child again. He recalled Cassie's face when the girl had first gone through a medical examination, so he tried to copy her stance and body language. He started to mimic her: chewing his lower lip in uncertainty, looking from the _alien_ device, to Doc and T.

"Will it hurt?" he asked in a small voice. It was the first time he had spoken since the NID arrived, and all heads turned toward him. Doc's eyes lit up suddenly, like she had just realised what was going on. She kneeled down beside him to be on the same eyelevel with him, and ruffled his hair gently.

"Of course not, honey." Her eyes glittered with amusement, and Jack was sure he wouldn't hear the end of this for a long time.

"Ya sure?"

"Yes, I am, but don't worry. Teal'c and I will stay with you, alright?"

"Yeah." Jack scrubbed his nose with his hand. One of the NID officer, Stocks stepped up to them and placed the machine on Jack's arm. Jack speculated if it monitored his pulse like the usually lie-detectors. It seemed Janet thought the same; she questioned Stocks about it, who answered affirmatively, before Simmons ordered him to do his work in _silence_. But this detail gave Jack hope. Some of his old skills, which he had picked up while in Special Ops, came in handy just now. At the time he had prided himself on the fact he was able to fool any lie-detector. Of course he was now a bit rusty; he hadn't needed to use this skill for a good 6 years or so.

"We're ready sir," announced Stocks.

"O'Neill, you will answer truthfully the next few questions," Simmons ordered. Jack just nodded.

"Your full name?" Simmons started the questioning.

"Jack O'Neill." Jack started to ease into his role of a kid, as he answered calmly. The lie-detector didn't make a sound, and Simmons narrowed his eyes.

"What's the meaning of this?" snarled Simmons to the technician.

"Sir, he is a boy. What he thinks is the truth, the machine senses as a truth," explained Stocks.

"All right." He nodded and turned back toward Jack. "How old are you?"

"Six." He smiled proudly, and when the technician smiled back at him, Jack knew he had won an ally.

"Who is Teal'c?" Jack frowned at the question, and looked back at him strangely while he pointed out T.

"He." Simmons just sighed, and Janet concealed a smile. Even Teal'c looked amused, well for a Jaffa. So the questioning continued.

--------------

At the same time in the meeting room, Hammond, Daniel and Sam went through the papers provided by the NID. Daniel groaned, and ran his finger through his hair before he spoke.

"General, I think our only chance to keep Jack out of the NID's clutches is if, and I emphasise, if it has been proved that he is no more than a child, and somehow we can provide him with a legal guardian."

"Which, knowing the NID, as well as the system, needs to be a solid claim. A blood relative would be best," added Sam. She exchanged a troubled look with Daniel, before adding, "We never heard of any relative of his." George sighed, and he pulled out O'Neill's file. He had seen it so many times, he almost knew it better than his own. He checked the file for relatives, but it was just as he remembered it.

"No living relative is mentioned in his file."

"And now what?" exclaimed Daniel angrily.

"We won't stop looking," Sam soothed the young archaeologist. Hammond nodded his agreement, and turned back to the documents in the hope of finding another solution.

-----------------

After a good thirty minutes of questioning, Jack pulled a whiny, bored kid routine. It looked like Simmons had resigned himself to the fact that he wouldn't get any more information out of O'Neill, and he stormed out of the room, claiming he needed to make a phone call. Jack clasped Janet's hand as they walked off toward the meeting room, hoping the others had found a loop-hole or two.

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	4. Chapter 4

"…So to sum it up. We can try to petition for guardianship, but knowing how the NID operate, and with their political connections. I say our chance is slim to null to keep Jack out of their hand without a living blood relative claim. I'm sorry Jack." Jack studied the table's surface intensely, while Daniel summarized the situation. He peered up at them shyly from under his mop of hair.

"What if, there is after all a living relative…"

"Colonel O'Neill, are you saying, you keep this information out of your file." Growled Hammond, his thick Texas' accent clearly showing how angered the General was. George closed his eyes, as he tried to calm down "You are lucky, son. This missing information could have caused security problems."

Hurt flashed through Jack's eyes, before his face closed up, hiding any emotion from the others in the room. "I understand sir. But with all do respect, you know me well enough to know I would have told you if the situation warrant it."

Daniel hoping to easy up the situation quickly jumped in: "So Jack who is this mysterious relative of yours? Why we never heard of him or her?" Daniel tried to leave out the bitterness from his voice, but he didn't succeed fully. His feeling was hurt by what he thought as Jack lack of trust in him. Jack seeing his friend's hurt, tried to sooth the situation. He never wanted to tell them, this part of his life, but it seemed there wasn't any loophole. Expect if he wanted to spend the rest of his life as a lab rat.

"Look Danny…" Jack was lost of words, how to tell them? How? He ran his fingers through his messy hair before he continue "Look, I had a half-brother, but we didn't speak more then 15 years, and even before that our interaction was few. I am not even sure he would help out if he knows it's about me." Jack shrugged, his own hurt colouring his voice. Looking back their animosity looked childish and pretty. Jack wasn't even sure if he would recognize his own brother. Just after losing so much, he started to appreciate what he could have with Jethro.

"What's his name, Sir?" asked Sam

"Leroy Jethro Gibbs. He was a Marine, Gunnery Sergeant. Last I heard, he joined the NCIS. " Hammond looked thoughtful at the news.

"NCIS? I never heard of it." Daniel frowned at them,

"Naval Criminal Investigative Service. The NCIS is a federal law enforcement agency with jurisdiction on crimes involving persons and property associated with the U.S. Navy and the U.S. Marine Corps." supplied Sam. Daniel pushed back his glass as he proceeded the information.

"It's good, isn't it?"

"Indeed. O'Neill's kin is a warrior; he would able to provide sufficient protection for O'Neill." Teal'c commented.

"It may be what we need." General nodded in agreed "Jack, if your brother still at the NCIS, its mean he is a Special Agent, which with the blood relation could be sufficient to keep the NID at bay." added Hammond, Jack didn't looked too happy at the news, but they hadn't have any other choice. Anyway spending a few days (hopefully) with Gibbs would be way better then the NID's questionable hospitability.

"Major Carter, run a background. We will need a creditable background and history, Doctor Jackson and Doctor Frasier you start working on that. And I need to make a few call. Everybody dismissed."

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_**NCIS **__**headquartered in Washington D.C., a few days later**_

Gibbs sat at his table, typing up their last case's report when he heard DiNozzo calling him.

"Hey Boss, what a flyboy would be doing here?" Gibbs narrowed his eyes, and turned toward the office's entrance. A dark haired airman, about 5' 11" stood at there. The man looked around as if searching for something or someone. The airman, if Gibbs so it right the Major's dark gaze settled on him. Well not him, more in his direction, the man started to walk toward his group. He absentmindedly heard Kate's comment about man in uniform was sexy, and DiNozzo's incomprehension of Kate's genre.

The Major turned in the aisle/line, where Gibbs' table stood; as the man became fully visible, Gibbs could clearly see the man's small, strangely familiar companion. A boy with honey brown hair, who was wearing a jeans, T-shirt and small military jacket.

Gibbs couldn't tear away his gaze from the boy. A small voice nagged him, he should recognize him or from where the child should be familiar. The Major stopped before his desk, clearing his throat to get Gibbs' attention. Jethro looked up at the man questioning, his face voided of emotions.

"Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs?"


	5. Chapter 5

"_Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs?"_

„Yes. And in what can I be to your help, Major…?" Jethro trailed off, as he arched a questioning eyebrow. The Major had taken his clue and introduced himself.

"Major Paul Davis, sir. I am here in an official business." The Major squeezed the boy's hand reassuringly. "You were named as official guardian in Jack O'Neill's will as last living relative for the boy."

It wasn't a common occurrence for Gibbs to be shocked speechless, but it seemed under the Majer little speech. Gibbs felt like someone slapped him when he first heard his brother name. He didn't even knew how long was he heard the name Jack O'Neill, and it was even further away when he saw Jack. He remembered clearly their angry rows, and arguments. And now, now his brother was died. His gaze met with familiar chocolate brown eyes, his brother eyes.

Now as he looked closer, he could clearly see the similarities, only where his Jack's eyes always glittered with mischief and amusement when he was that age, this little boy's, his nephew's gaze was way too old and wise for such a little boy.

Gibbs narrowed his eyes and suddenly stood up, his gaze hardened as he spoke. "Major, please accompany me to one of the meeting room to discuss this situation further." Gibbs' voice was assertive, his blue eyes glanced meaningfully his listening nephew. The Major seemed too understand Gibbs' hint and nodded his understanding. Major Davis turned toward the boy:

"Jack, stay here and try to not get in any trouble. We will be back in a sec." The boy, Jack adopted an innocent look which screamed 'Who me?', young Jack mand the Majer shared a smile, then intelligent brown eyes glanced up at Gibbs, as if sized him up, before nodding his understanding.

"Kate, stay with Jack." Gibbs snapped out as he turned to walk down toward one of the unoccupied meeting room with Majer Davis close in his tale.

"Sure Gibbs." Jethro heard Todd answer.

He escorted the Air Force officer in the room, and closed the door firmly after him. He unconsciously adopted his interrogation posture.

"Major, I want to know what's going on? So tell me how Jack died and more important why wasn't I notified sooner of my brother's death?"

"Sorry sir. I wasn't authorized to discuss the circumstance of Colonel O'Neill's death or the events which delayed your notification." Majer Davis' replay was professional, but his eyes betrayed to Gibbs the other man's emotions.

"Look Majer," Gibbs stepped toward the man, his posture lose some of the treating quality. "I just want to find out what happened to my brother." Davis looked slightly uneasy; the Mayer seized him up as if he was comparing him to someone else.

"Agent Gibbs, even if I were allowed to tell you more about Colonel O'Neill's death, I can't. I am only here to hand over young Jack, and inform you the Colonel's son was placed under your care as the only reminding relative until the legal hearing of his placement. Where you will be able to either accept or give up your claim on him. " the Majer stopped, looked in Gibbs' eyes. "On the other hand I feel, there is no harm in you knowing you weren't notify sooner because until the Colonel's will was opened, nobody knew you were related to Colonel O'Neill."

Gibbs felt he can't get out more information out of the Majer, he nodded his understanding and tried to ignore the sudden flare of sorrow because his only brother concealed their relationship so toughly.

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When they stepped outside the meeting room, Gibbs first noticed the sulking DiNizzo, and Kate who desperately tried to hide her giggle. And there stood Abby. Jethro tipped his head slightly as he tried to figure out way her present near his nephew bothered him so much.

When he noticed she removed her collar and was just about to put it on the boy's neck. A mental image flashed through his mind about young Jack with black dried hair, collar around his neck, wearing leather clothes.

"Abby!" he called out for the girl, who started badly. Abby looked back toward him with a dire in the spotlight look on her face, instantly pulling back her precious collar with a small smile on her face.


	6. Chapter 6

„What's up with Tony?"

„Someone thought he is a gigolo." Kate supplied helpfully, while DiNizzo gave her and Jack a death glare. Both Gibbs and Major Davis glanced toward Jack who adopted one of his innocent _'Who me?'_ look.

"Right. DiNizzo, Kate, Abby with me." Gibbs turned toward the Air Force Major. "If you could stay with Jack, while I debrief my man."

"Of course, Agent Gibbs."

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"Boss, what's up? Who is the kid?" asked Tony.

"He is my nephew. Form my brother side."

"I didn't know you have a brother, Boss."

"I had a brother. He apparently died a few weeks ago."

„I'm sorry, Boss."

„Poor kid." Abby glanced toward the child in question.

"My condolence, Gibbs. What happened?" sympathy shined in Kate's brown eyes.

"That's what I want to find out. Here are the files the Air Force provided." Jethro gave the dossier to Kate as he addressed to them. "Kate, I want my brother's full file as well any information you can get about his last assignment." His blue gaze swiped to Abby. "Abby, you and Doc go through his medical file, the report about his death and the coroner's report. DiNizzo, you…" Gibbs looked Tony up and down, and waved his hand. "Yours the rest."

"I am on it, Boss."

"I take home the kid; if you get anything call me." They all nodded their understanding; Gibbs narrowed his gaze at them. "And prey to tell what are you waiting for?" They all hurried away muttering to themselves.

------ At the same time -------

"So, gigolo??"

"Hey he called me baby first." pouted Jack for a bit, before a grin suppressed it. Jack gaze wandered toward Gibbs and his man, he bit in his lip. "He don't really like me, does he?"

"Who, Gibbs? Nah, I think he just needs a bit of time. It's not everyday, a man find out his brother is died and he have a nephew who he never met."

"Maybe. Anyway it is too late to change my mind?" Jack asked, making big puppy dog eyes.

"Nice try. But the answer is still no."

"Well it was worth a try."

Gibbs walked up to them, the Major nodded his farewell. Jack looked up at Gibbs, who stood there, watching him. They stood there in silent for a few minuets, before Gibbs grabbed Jack's bag.

"Come, I will take you home."

"Home?!"

"Well, to my house," Gibbs warily put his hand on Jack's shoulder and squeezed it reassuringly. "It's great; it's on a lake-side."

"A lake? We could fish."

"I'm not sure there are fish in the lake."

"Who need fish for fishing??" Jack spread his arms. Gibbs couldn't help himself and rolled his eyes.

"Right. Where had I heard this before?" Jack just smirked in replay

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The ride to Gibbs' house was a bit uneventful. They didn't speak too much, a few sentence here and there, Jack watched the land as they went. They left NCIS headquarter a good 20 minuets or so, when Jack first noticed a black sedan following them. His brown eyes narrowed, he wrecked his brain to came up a way to alert his brother to the possible danger without giving away too much. He suddenly turned his head toward Jethro and asked:

"What type this car?"

"1975 Dodge Charger."

"And the one beside us?"

"Uhm a BMW, I think."

"And the one following us?"

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**_Thanks for the reviews, and the help_**


	7. Chapter 7

Gibbs glanced in the rearview mirror, and noted the black sedan was still following them. Who ever their shadows were, they were very discreet. After Jack's little question game, Jethro noticed one of the cars was still there; he made some unnecessary turn just to be sure, not just his imagination acting up. But nop, the black sedan was still there. The why, was what really interested Gibbs. He had a feeling his young company was somehow connected to this.

----------------- _Cheyenne Mountain, SGC, General Hammond office _------------------

Hammond sat at his desk and went over some of the mission reports when a sudden knock on his office's door alerted him to Major Carter's present.

"Come in Major. Happened something?"

"Yes sir. Captain Shane reported someone called down Colonel O'Neill's service and medical files, even attempted to access the classified parts without success."

"Gibbs?"

"It looks like, sir. We couldn't retrieval to the source yet, but we know someone from the NCIS system issued a search on Cheyenne Mountain and SGC, sir."

"I assume they didn't get deeper then our cover, right Major?"

"At the moment, sir. But what Colonel O'Neill told us about his brother, I don't doubt they will try to dig deeper."

Hammond tried to suppress the smile which treated to break free when he remembered his 2IC's word about his brother's stubbornness. _"With all do respect sir, he is a Marin. He is like a pit-bull with a bone, a Jaffa with a revenge or Daniel with an artifact."_ It looked like he wasn't the only one who remembered this particular incident, if the amusement in Carter's blue eyes was anything to go by.

"Yes, I believe, we will hear about Gibbs in the close future."

"Yes, sir." Carter was about to turn away, but she hesitate in the doorway. "Sir, if may I ask something."

"Go ahead, Major."

"I would like to know what Major Davis said about how Gibbs welcomed the news, if it's alright, sir." Hammond noticed one of his office's guarding SF stepped closer to his office's door in hope to hear his answer. He had no doubt within minuets the whole base will know the answer.

"Major Davis will give a full report as soon as he arrives back to his office. On the other hand he called and informed me; Agent Gibbs took the news of the Colonel's death badly and didn't question Jack emplacement. The Major believe there won't be any problem from Gibbs or his man."

"That's good to hear, sir. Thank you, General."

---------------------------- _Gibbs' House_ ------------------------

"…and this is my basement." Gibbs finished his house's introduction to Jack as he opened up the door to the basement and switched on the light. Jack peered in the room, and raised an eyebrow a la Teal'c, not that Jethro know who was T.

"You have a boat in the basement?"

"Sure." Gibbs grinned back.

"And how you get it out if it's finished?"

"It's me to know and you to find out."

"Gee thanks. Anyway what is it with Marin's and ship." Jack asked back with pretended annoyance.

"Not sure, my Dad, your Grandfather taught me how to build ship." Gibbs voice was melancholy; he didn't notice when Jack tensed up hearing that. "Anyway come, I'm hungry, what about you?"

"I'm famished." Jack didn't look up, he was afraid his eyes would betray his feelings. Their Dad never taught him how to build bout; of course he was always loved planes and flying more.

"What you want to eat?"

"Pizza."

"Sure, go to the sitting room while I make the call." Jack just nodded as he walked toward the living room. He stopped on the corridor to listen into Gibbs' call, after hearing Jethro's first sentence he keep walking toward the sitting room.

-----------

"DiNizzo, its Gibbs. Listen a black sedan followed us; I have a part of a license plat: 830G."

"_I got it, Boss_." Tony's voice sounded distant through the phone.

"I want you to run it through the database, I want to know who followed us and why."

"_I will call back if I find something."_

"Good." He put down the phone and dialed up Luigi's Pizza. Before headed back to Jack, who stood by the mental watching intensely some of the displayed photos. There wasn't much photo there; it wasn't costume in his family. On the other hand the few which were displayed were important to him. As he looked closer he noticed his brother wasn't the only one who tried to conceal their relationship, there weren't even one picture of Jack.

Young Jack looked toward him; the boy's intense brown eyes studied him. Gibbs thought maybe he lost the chance to really get to know his only brother but it wasn't to late to get to know this boy, his nephew, Jack's son.

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**Thanks for the reviews, and for the help (raven). Hope you liked this chapter too. **


	8. Chapter 8

**_Short but necessery chapter. Thanks for the reviews, and for reading this story so far._**

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After Jethro made sure Jack was asleep in the guest room, he headed up to the loft. He searched through two old trunks before he finally found what he was searching. A small mahogany box, he smiled as he pulled it out . He headed back to his living room when the door bell rang. He raised an eyebrow, he didn't expect anyone. He disposed the box on the chest before he unlocked the drawer where he kept his gun. He stepped up to the door, looked outside to see who was there. He narrowed his eyes as he put his gun away before he opened the door.

„I thought I told you to call me?!" Gibbs stated as soon as he noticed his whole team stood outside his door, even Ducky was there.

"Let us in, Gibbs. We have some very interesting news." supplied Abby. She was grinning ear to ear as she held up an extra large cup of café. "We even brought peace offering."

Gibbs raised an eyebrow and took the café cup as he stepped sideway to let them inside. He shepherd them toward his living room, while he mentally mused on the fact that room never was used so much than today. When they settled down he asked:

"So what you got." When all of them started to talk the sametime, expect Ducky, he held up his hand to silence them. The others did just that, knowing Gibbs enough to shut up. "Okay Tony, what you get on the license plat."

"I turned out it's a government license plate, I even managed to track it back to the NID in the government license database, but despite all my effort no more information was forthcoming."

"NID?!" Gibbs frowned. He didn't know what's going on, but this situation get stranger with every minuet.

"Yes, Boss." Tony nodded.

"Kate?"

"I got his service report, well at least that part which wasn't classified." Gibbs raised an eyebrow. Kate, thanks to her ex-Secret Service position on Air Force One had the highest clearance among them, if even she couldn't access to the file it must have been some top secret staff. "Colonel O'Neill's last assignment was at the SGC, in Cheyenne Mountain. They officially are doing Deep Space Telemetry."

"And unofficially?" Kate just shook her head, indicating she have no answer, before she continued.

"The only other thing I could find out that the personals can be divided in two group scientists and battle-hardened military personal. It also looks like a joint Marine-Air Force operation, under Air Force supervision." She handed the file to Gibbs, who took and opened it.

The first thing that caught Jethro's attention was his brother's eyes. He studied the Jack's face, Gibbs wondered if he would have recognized him at all if they met in person. His brother looked older, his once honey colored hair was now mostly pepper, his gaze hardened, and the lines on his face could be clearly seen. He suddenly closed the file, putting it aside, his gaze snapped toward Ducky and Abby.

"And what you got?" Ducky and Abby exchanged a look, most likely debating who should talk. The tension could be slick in the room, by the time Millard spoke up.

"Your brother's file was an interesting reading most of it was classified as well, but what I can gather, even after he was assigned to SGC, he sustained injuries. I saw files like this with special assignments and operators. In one case, it was a particular interesting…"

"Ducky!!" Gibbs growed warningly

"Ah yes. As I was saying the Colonel's file while mostly blank, it indicates combat operations. As for the coroner's report, well there isn't any."

"What?"

"They declared him MIA, assume died a few days ago." added Abby, when she was sure she got everyone's attention she continued. "I managed to heck in their system, I get a fragment of a report written by a Doctor Jackson, what I gathered there was some accident while O'Neill's team was on a mission."

"And?" Jethro asked impatiently. Abby made an apology face as she continue.

"That was when they knocked me out of their system."

"You get caught?!" Kate asked, disbelief clearly showned in her voice Abby grimaced at that.

"Wait a second, Doctor Daniel Jackson." cut in Tony

"Yeah, why?"

"I run in his name when I looked up O'Neill. Ah I saw it somewhere." Tony hurriedly turned over the papers he brought. "I got it, Listen : Colonel Jonathan O'Neill vouched for Doctor Daniel Jackson's apartment."

"I want to know everything about this Doctor Jackson."


	9. Chapter 9

Thansk for reading this story and I like to thank everyone who left me review. It meant a lot. After reading some of your review I could not stop grinning for hours. : ) Hope you will like this chapter too.

Beta: **Transgenic-girl **(Transgenic-girl offered to helpwith the grammer, all my thanks to her.)

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Jack and Kate stood there facing each other, long after Gibbs had left to work. 

After the team's late night visit, Kate had got the pleasure of baby-sitting young Jack, who was a cute kid in Kate's opinion, but kid nonetheless. And Kate had no experience with l children so small or kids at all if you wanted to think about it closely. So she was a bit lost; how to talk to or what to do with a six year-old boy.

Jack, on the other hand, had no problem with talking with women in general, usually, when he wasn't trapped in a child's body. However, everything that came to his mind, was either cocky, slightly flirtatious or pretty sarcastic none of which would go too well with his present cover.

Both of them tried to start a conversation at first, neither getting out a word, so they aborted these attempts. Jack's gaze wandered around to the room's furniture, taking a big breath then exhaling it slowly, He turned toward Kate who had been studying intensely the furniture as well, most likely trying to find out what to do with him. Jack pursed his lips, before he spoke up.

"TV?"

"Good idea?" Kate smiled at him in relief, Jack grinned back. "I just go and get some coffee."

"And I will try to find the TV."

Jack turned and marched into the living room, in the hope of finding the TV there. He looked around but couldn't find it. He wandered around the house, looking in every room he passed on the first floor without luck. He knew there wasn't TV on the second floor either, he had checked it out last night.

"Damn it." He cursed out loud, but he wasn't the only one. He heard a female voice saying the same thing at almost the same time.

As he walked into the kitchen, his eyes widened. Every door was open and a very frustrated Special Agent Caitlin Todd standing there, halfway bent in the seemingly last one, furiously searching and cursing Gibbs the same time. Jack couldn't help but grin.

"For a man who drinks so much coffee, he didn't even have a damn coffeemaker. That so typical for Gibbs, he is a damn addict to the stuff…"

"Looking for something?" Jack asked innocently, and then grinned at Kate's ruffled appearance. She looked slightly flushed.

"I haven't had any luck. Coffeemaker, I can't find it." She muttered angrily.

"Neither have I, the TV. So now, what?"

"The store?" Kate asked hopefully.

"Oh, I do love shopping." Jack answered back eagerly.

"Really?"

"No." He rolled his eyes, while Kate huffed in annoyance. Jack made a face, before asking carefully. "Oh well, here are nothing to do and I am easily bribable, a Simpson DVD or a T-shirt." He waggled his eyebrow suggestively, Kate grinned back at him in conspiracy.

"I think we can arrange something."

…………..

As Kate sat in the car she looked back in the back sit where Jack sat. She frowned.

"We need to get a child security seat." Jack made a patent sigh at her worried comment. Kate started up the car, and it slowly rolled out to the road. Jack thought he caught a glimpse from the car that had followed them last night.

--------------

Gibbs was in a full mode, he hated if things didn't go as he wanted them. His brother's case just made no sense to him. Things just didn't add up, Jethro knew he was missing something, he could feel it, but the missing piece still eluded him. He'd read through his brother's file again and again. He was in the armed force long enough to knew when he saw a Special Force files. He didn't read what was written in Jack's file, he read the blank places, the time shifts, the sustained injuries. He could guess well enough to the where Jack had been and what he might have done. But his last station, this Cheyenne Mountain, it just bugged him. There was something not adding up. But what? He needed to know what was happening in that Mountain. He needed to know because without it he will never know what really happened to his brother.

He pulled out a white paper from his drawer and placed it in his desk, starting to write out the more significant information, which he hoped would be helpful in the future.

Cheyenne Mountain. SGC._ What does SGC mean? What's the abbreviation stand for?_ C most likely meant Command. But what SG stood for, Gibbs never heard of it before.

Personnel: almost two thirds of the base are of the military contingent. Few of them were simple MPs, and the base security had oddly high clearances. Puzzling thought was the seemingly unreasonable high number of the high ranking officers, he run through only a few files so far – the only ones he could acquire. He found 4 full-bird Colonels – including his own brother, 3 Lieutenant Colonels, numerous Majors and Captains. The which fact was more surprising or more confusing? The large size of the medical staff with salaries equal with ones who serve in war-zone, or the high death quota?

He rubbed his eyes with the heel of his hand. The further he dug, the more questions appeared. There was no other option, he needed to go there and look around. But first, he needed to drink a cup of coffee.

------------- _SGC, Hammond office_ -----------

"General, sir."

"Yes, Major."

"I got a call from Agent Barrett. He said he intercepted an e-mail in which someone gave an order to acquire Colonel O'Neill's son."

"When was this order given?"

"A few hours ago. Sir? Will we send a team?"

"They would be too late, Major. The Colonel is well-trained, a career soldier, even if he doesn't look like one at the moment. Other than that, we can only hope for now that Jack will be able to manage the situation on his own."

"Yes, sir." Major Carter was just about to turn away when Hammond's voice stopped her in her tracks.

"And Major, I think it's time to initiate Plan B."

"Yes, sir." Sam couldn't help but smile slightly at the news.

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A/N: I need a Title for this story. But can't come up with anything good... Any suggestion, ideas... 


	10. Chapter 10

**Thank you for all of you for reading this story it mean a lot to me. Thanks for teh reviews and sorry for not posting ,just now it was a crazy week. Thanks for Di and FORD B for suggesting titles I like both.**

**From the next chapter this story will go by the name: **Lost Brother.

Hope you will like this chapter too. **  
**

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**Chapter 10**

Jack was restless, he couldn't help glancing backwards every few minuets. He narrowed his eyes, there it was again. The same black sedan. Of course there were lot of black sedan in the world, but it was highly unlikely this one followed them entirely accidentally. Kate turn down to a smaller side street, a few minuets ago saying it was faster.

Jack sense of uneasiness went up a notch. Maybe because the black sedan was gradually getting closer and closer, or maybe because the vicinity looked positively unwelcoming with its ruined, broken down factory buildings and desolated streets.

"Kate."

"Yes?!" she glanced back toward him, her expression questioning. Jack wasn't sure how to approach her with his suspicious. He opted to the direct answer, even if he someway let on his secret, he could easily cover up it later. Better safe then sorry. If his suspicious was right they were in danger.

"That car is following us since Uncle Gibbs' house." Jack could clearly see in the rearview-mirror as Agent Todd furrowed her brow as in concentration to try to remember if she saw the car before. But before she could answer, another car slammed in to their vehicle from one of the side street. The impact sent their car straight to the closest building's wall.

At the time the car stopped, Jack get free from the seat-belt, he climbed on the first seat where his temporary babysitter laid unconsciously, she had a deep gash on the side of her head. She must have hit her head when their car get knocked into the wall. With a quick backwards glance, he surveyed their attackers position. Two man in black commando outfit just got out of the van while two more man joined them from the car which followed them.

Jack had no doubt he could escape easily, if he leave Kate behind, but it wasn't an opinion. He shake her shoulder to wake her, she stirred and opened her slightly unfocused brown eyes.

"We need to go, Kate." He sounded urgent and desperate, which wasn't a surprise he didn't wanted to became a lab rat at so young, or at all. He saw her gaze widen as she remembered where they were exactly and why. She tried to open her safety belt without much success, her movement and coordination was a bit off. _Most probably consciousness_ thought Jack. He had his own _pleasant_ experience on this field to knew when he see one. Jack help to open the belt and urged her to try to pry open the door or the window. The door didn't bulged, so Kate get down the window.

Kate was mostly out of the car when one of the brute hitched up the passenger side door, making a grab for Jack. Who kicked out, hitting the man in jaw. The attacker wavered backwards for a moment. It was enough leeway for Jack to pull himself outside with Kate's help. They started to run almost instantly toward one of the side alley where in Jack hope they can disappeared or get more leeway until the rescue team arrived.

The other attackers seemed to came to their sense, seeing their simply 'grab and take' operation taken an unexpected turn. They pulled out their guns, aiming at Kate, they fired a few shot, before their fugitive duo managed to reach the corner.

There were a bad news and a good news. The good news was that they were out of the fire range for now, the bad news was that they were in a blind alley. Without really thinking Jack pulled Kate toward one of the broken window of the factory. She pulled Jack back toward herself when he wanted to kick out the remaining piece of glass. She took up a metal rode from the floor and knocked out the glass. They just get inside when their persuaders arrived in the alley.

Kate pulled out her own gun, she fired a few shot too, made their attackers to retreat. Her gaze never leaving the men in the alley's entrance as she spoken. "Run Jack, try to get out of here." Jack needed to fight his instincts to obey her order, he hesitated before he made up his mind. They need to call a back-up, now.

"Give me your phone." Her brown eyes flicked at him, while she fired another round, "To call for help." Jack added explanatory. A few shot hit the wall near where they kneeled. She hurriedly pulled out her cell and passed it to Jack.

"Now run." She ordered. Jack know he would be underfoot without a gun, so he obeyed and started to run. The ground level was barren, not leaving any place to hid or to protect them, so Jack opted to run toward the stairs, hoping to find more thing to use up there. He could hear as she fired a shot.

-------

Kate fired a shot and looked down at her gun. It was almost empty, she had another clip in her pocket, and that's all. She would be out of ammo. Kate made up her mind and called after Jack "I will be shortly after you." Jack nodded as he hurried up the stairs. One of the man slowly get out from behind the building's covering. Kate assumed they thought they run away or get out of ammo, which wasn't too far from the truth. She waited patiently, for the man to get closer, she wanted to get the odds a bit more even. She licked her lip and fired, her target went down. She got up fast and sprinted after Jack. Hoping the other attackers would think twice before attempting another attack.

---------

Jack was up on the first floor. It looked as empty and barren as the ground level. He sprinted toward to another stairway which most probably lead to the roof. He heard Caitlin's running footstep as she was heading toward him. He got on the top, opened the door and found himself facing a man in black suit, with a malicious expression on his face. The only thing came to Jack's mind was "Shit!"

--------------

The man smirked at him, his eyes glinted with cruelty as he moved to grab Jack. Only by years of honed skill as a solder helped Jack to take hold of the man's hand as he was about to grab him. He pressed his fingers into the man's palm between his thumb and index finger, while he twisted the man's hand backwards. Causing the man to fall to his knee from pain.

The man snarled at him and trusted his other hand toward Jack. Its only peripherally registered in Jack's mind that something glinted in that hand, as he stepped back by instinct.

His luck helped in too, as he stepped back suddenly there wasn't any where to step back, he fallen backwards, pulling down with him the larger man. As he rolled down the stairs he thought he heard Kate calling his name. He grabbed the rail as he collide with it.

The other man wasn't that lucky with a thunderous thud he landed on the floor, his head stood in an unnatural angel. He stared down at the died body on the floor, and slowly the shock set in. He really didn't understand why it, this death shocked him so much, faint tremors started run thought his body. From his momentarily stupor, Kate's arrival to his side, brought him back. She picked him up and carried him out to the roof.

Jack breath slowed down, his hart stopped racing, and the faint tremors became almost nonexistent. He wriggled in her arms.

"I am fine. You can put me down now." She studied him, he momentarily felt like under Doc's inquisitor gaze.

"Alright." She nodded as she put him down. They run to the other side of the roof. The next building, there looked to be the closest. Only a few feet separate the two building, and a thin plank was placed on the roofs' side which linked the two building together. They looked down, the alley looked a bit far. A good 15 meter/30 feet or so away.

"Its not that high." Kate looked at him in disbelieve, he looked back at her innocently. Before he grinned at her.

"Come on." He nodded toward the plank, she shook her hand in denial.

"No, no way. I don't go through on that." Jack just rolled his eyes, as he climbed up on the railing.

"It's not that we have a lot of other opinion."

They walked through the plank, Jack admitted if only just to himself it wasn't really easy. The plank moved with every step he made, Kate pressed down her weight onto the end to try to stabilize the plank, when it was Kate's turn. It went even harder, Jack done his best but his present weight do nothing much to help. The plank even gave out breaking noise at the end.

They hid in the ventilator shaft, when they heard their remainder persecutors get on the roof. They could hear their words from the other roof.

"I will kill them both."

"No we need the boy alive."

"That bitch won't get away, and if I have my way neither the boy."

"Are you deaf I told you we need him alive or the boss will had our hide. Now stop bitching and start looking. Before I put you out of your misery myself." Snarled one of them.

Kate exchanged a look with Jack. Jack's gaze widen as he started to search for her cell, it was in his jacket's pocket. He pulled out what was left of the phone. He looked up at her with big puppy-dog eyes and said.

"Hups." It was her turn to roll her eyes.

"Give me, that maybe it's still working." She take the cell, some piece fallen off it and the display window was shattered. She pressed down 5, it was Gibbs's number on her fast-call list. She put the cell to her ear and prayed for it to work. She thank God when Gibbs' phone started to ring out. She blow out a breath in relief when she heard his voice.

"Gibbs."


	11. Chapter 11

Beta: _**Transgenic-girl  
**_

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**Chapter 11**

When Daniel wandered into Sam's office, he saw her intensely studying her computer's screen. He hugged himself as he stepped closer to her. Since Jack's 'little' accident, nothing had been the same, Daniel knew he would sound selfish but he'd always thought Jack and his support were guaranteed. But now his best friend's life was in danger because of him.

"Sam?" he called her attention to his presence. Sam looked up and smiled at him, he felt an answering smile trying to break free.

"Hey, Daniel."

"Um...what's going on, Sam? I heard something about Jack being in danger..."

"Oh!" she looked at him reassuringly. "There's nothing to fear, Jack can take care of himself. That's NID guys won't know what's coming." _NID? After Jack_? _That wasn't the same gossip he heard_, thought Daniel. Sam, it seemed, didn't notice his momentary bewildered gaze, she continue her rant. "And we set in motion Plan B." _Now that's part he heard._

"And there is any news from NCIS yet?" Sam just grinned at him and beckoned him toward her computer. On the screen, two signs flashed in a bright red color. He felt relief, the first time since Jack had left the base.

--------------

Gibbs strolled in Abby's lab, in his hand he hold two extra large cups of coffee. As soon as he stepped inside Abby spotted him, or the coffee, it wasn't crystal clear for Gibbs which she'd seen first, not that it mattered. Abby was draw to the coffee instantly, her green-gray eyes widened and she reached for one of the cups. Gibbs pulled both cups away and raised a questioning eyebrow. It was their old game, information for caffeine. Abby pouted at him before she rolled her eyes.

"So what have you got for me, Abby?" Jethro asked. She huffed, but turned back toward her computer.

"I went through everything; the Air Force database, the Marine's, even the local police and found nothing what could get us more information on this base." She answered, while still keeping an eye on the coffee.

"And you called me down to tell me that you found nothing?"

"Of course not." She grinned. "I found nothing until I came across this request," she typed something on the keyboard. Gibbs narrowed his eyes to see the document better. It looked like an ordinary request form for if serviceman or woman's family members weren't content with the official explanation. Gibbs started to see where this going but patiently waited for the explanation from Abby.

"As you see a certain Major Malcolm Welsh was killed in a training accident a few weeks ago, and the widow requested an official investigation. As you see his last station was at SGC. The request just recently got in the system, no other agency claimed it yet. The case looks pretty simple but it could be our ticket into Cheyenne Mountain. As the Major was a Marine, the case belongs under NCIS' authority."

"Good work, Abby." He held out one of the cups. Abby grabbed it before he could change his mind and took a big gulp out of it. Gibbs grinned at her while he took a sip as well from his own cup. His cell started to ring; he pulled out his phone and put it to his ear without really looking at the caller ID.

"Gibbs." He said.

"Gibbs, thanks God. It's me, Kate. Somebody attacked us." Her voice sounded shaky through the phone, her relief hearing his voice was evident in her every word.

"What?! Where are you?" his mind was racing with hundred questions, but he knew these questions could wait for now. He needed to get to his family first. He turned in his heel, and almost run out of Abby's lab with the young woman close in his tail.

"We're at the factory section near the Blue-Sky Shopping center; we were coming down from the highway at the second exit. Gibbs I'm so sorry." Her voice broke at the last sentence.

"For what?" he asked back, perplexed by her tone. He didn't notice he stopped until Abby ran into his back. The Goth girl looked worriedly at him,

"I...If I didn't go out all of this wouldn't have happened." mumbled Kate

"Kate" Gibbs heard Jack whispered voice in the background. Gibbs heart started to race. And he felt his blood freeze at the boy's next sentence. "They're here." It was the last he heard before the line went silent, only the others' hard breathing could be heard from the other side. He mouthed to Abby to call Tony, she nodded and raced away. He headed towards his car, he didn't want to lost one more minute than he already had.

"Kate?" he asked after a short while, he didn't want to give away their position but this waiting was killing him. "What's going on? Damn it, answer me!" he wanted to scream, he hated feeling so powerless. "We'll be there in 15 minutes." He said instead and hoped that they wouldn't arrive too late.

He got to his car just as Tony arrived hurriedly, he was just about to fill him in when, he heard something. A jarring, creaking noise, then...

"Move!" ordered a boyish voice.

"Jack!" Gibbs heard Kate scream before the line went dead.


	12. Chapter 12

Beta: _**Transgenic-girl**_

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While Kate talked with Gibbs, Jack learned back and closed his eyes. Now that the adrenalin started to leave his body, he started to feel several ache all over his body. He was startled out of his thought by a small noise, his eyes snapped open. He slowly crawled closer to the entrance of their hiding place. Two of their persecutor managed to get to the roof where they were hiding and one of them's head snapped up as if he heard something. Or someone. His gaze widen as he crawled back to Kate's side.

"Kate. They are here." He whispered, as he silenced her with his hand on her mouth. He quickly signed at her where he last saw the two men. Kate looked shocked, Jack wasn't sure what surprised her more, his use of military signing or their attackers' sudden appearance. But he get to give her, she recovered quit nicely; her eyes promised a long, very long discussion as soon as there weren't psychopaths after them. She signed back him to start to move down the ventilator shaft. Jack nodded and moved forward, after a few second he heard someone opened up shaft's entrance. He turned his head toward the noise and caught a glimpse of one the msn just a few feet behind Kate.

"Move." He ordered, and Kate obeyed the order without thinking and lunged forward, hitting the floor hard. The man behind her was just about to grab her feet and drag her out from the shaft, but Kate sudden movement was enough to get her out of his reach. But as soon as she hit the ground, one of the sheets gave out under her weight. Jack was partly on that shaft's cell and with the falling piece Jack himself fallen down.

Kate screamed his name and tried to grab him, without success. She get on her knees and crawled closer the opening, the shaft went over the roof, as she moved closer she could see the street below, her hart raced. _'Oh, my God. Please be alive. Please.'_ She pleaded as she looked down and sight in relief, the escape rout's stairway was just below her. Jack was halfway off the stair. Kate saw he was climbing on the platform, he was just about to pull up his leg, when the attacker behind her spoken.

"Get back here, Miss. I didn't wanna hurt you. But I will shoot you if you don't obey." growled the man. Kate heard a faint click as the man eased down the safety on his gun. She wasn't in a particular position to fight, so she started to crawl backward.

-------------

Jack felt like his hart would jump out his chest. After a short fall he landed on the staircase. He wouldn't say for sure, but it felt like something broke in his chest. He tried to breathe through the pain, but it was hard, his pain tolerance just wasn't like it used to be.

When he felt he was able to move without vomiting or passing out, he pulled up his leg to the staircase too. He heard the commotion from the roof. He knew he needed to move before someone come to get him. He needed to keep them up until Jethro arrived. He pressed his arm to his ribs as he stood.

He wavered with every step; only his stubbornness kept him going as waves of dizziness washed over him. He stumbled down the stairs, he heard noise getting closer. He got down only one floor when the emergency door opened up and one of their attacker stepped outside. Jack looked back just to see the man starting down the stairs. Jack run to the door and opened it.

In this factory there were a lot of big machine and junk all around the floor, giving Jack plenty of opportunity to hid or if needed to fight. He run toward one of the row and ducked under one of the machine. The man was close behind him. Jack thanked good he was so small it made easier to hid or move through short cuts where his adult form would have problems, like his attacker had just now. On the other hand if he was in his usually form he wouldn't have this problem.

-------------

Kate got out of the ventilator shaft, and slowly turned toward the man and smiled at him. Who gave her a confused look, Kate just smiled at him more brightly.

"So what can I do fore a handsome man, like you?" she asked on a suggestive tone.

The man looked nervously toward the stairway. It was enough for Kate to move, she stepped toward him, and with her left hand she grabbed his arm in which he held his gun, and with her other arm she elbowed him into face. From her sudden move he relaxed his grip on his gun. She kicked the gun out of his hand. But the man recovered quickly and slapped her hard enough to send her to the floor.

"You bitch." He growled, while he wiped off his bleeding nose. She scrambled backward, trying to free her own gun.

------------------

Jack took another turn, and run into a dead end. He whirled around, but he was too late. His chaser cached up with him. Jack started to retreat, he spied a metal rod only a few feet away. He doubted he had the strength to beat this man, but it didn't mean he would go down without a fight.

----------------

Kate grabbed her gun and fired a shoot. The man's eyes widen in disbelieve before he fallen to his knees'. The man's eyes rolled back in his head and fallen forward, right on Kate. She groaned, before she tried to get off the died body.

------------

The shooting's noise echoed through the whole building. Both Jack and his opponent snapped their head toward the noise. Jack saw his opportunity and jumped toward the metal rod. His foe noticed his movement and turned back his full attention toward Jack. Seeing the rod in boy's hand, he laugh out loud.

"Put it down Boy, before you get hurt." Jack made a fake scared face.

"Oh no." his voice dripped with sarcasm.

"You little…" snarled the man as he lounged toward Jack. Jack took up one of the fighting position, one of his leg slid back, so he could stood more stabile, he placed his weight onto his leg which was forward. He racked the rod toward his opponent stomach, when the man caught it, he pulled the rod toward himself while he kicked out, hitting the man on his groin. Jack's attacker let go the rod. Jack pushed on his adventure and brandished the rod, aiming at the man's head. Hitting his intended target, the man's limp form went down.

Jack felt a wave of dizziness washed over him, black spots started to dance before his eyes. He stumbled back, his back hitting the wall behind him. He didn't feel like he could stay on his feet anymore, he felt drained as he slide down. He knew he should move; try to find out what happened with Kate. But his eyes closed on their own accord. The metal rod slipped out from his fingers, hitting the floor beside him.


	13. Chapter 13

Beta: _**Transgenic-girl **_

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Kate ran down the stairs, listening carefully to every noise. As she descended the stairs, she didn't hear any sound from the first floor. She opened the door and looked inside. The room was mostly empty, only a few bits of junk scattered here and there. She made her way to the next floor. Opening up that door, she saw many large machines. She stepped inside.

The silence unnerved her, making her fear the worst. She knew they that didn't want to kill Jack, but accidents did happen. Come to that she could be too late and they could've taken Jack away. What would she do than? What would she say to Gibbs? She knew it wasn't the time to start to panic. She needed to keep herself professional at least until Gibbs and help could arrive.

------------

Jack sensed someone coming closer to him, his senses alerted him to his companion present a few seconds ago. He didn't move, his head resting on his knees, his eyes were closed and his face relaxed. Only his right hand moved, so his fingers were resting on the metal rod. Otherwise he didn't move, just listened and waited.

The footsteps get closer to his location, they got faster as they came closer to him. Most probably whoever it was had noticed him. Jack tensed his muscles, ready to move, to fight, to escape. The footsteps sounded light, somehow familiar. The footsteps were just a few feet away. He closed his fingers around the rod.

"Jack." Kate called out as she rushed toward him, Jack relaxed his muscles, and let go of his weapon, before opening his eyes. She looked worse then before, her left check was discolored, her lip was split, her hair even more rumpled then before, and there was blood.

"Are you hurt?" he asked simultaneously with Kate. They shared a smile.

"I'm fine. You?" answered Jack. He didn't feel fine but hoped Kate would believe him. No such luck if the way Kate narrowed eyes, and arched her eyebrows said anything.

"I'm good too."

"Are you bleeding?" Jack asked tentatively. Kate looked down to her shirt and noticed the blood spot on it the first time.

"Oh! No, it's not mine."

"Good."

They both became silent for a moment, remembering what just happened to them the last few minutes. Kate held out her hand, "We should go." She said with a smile. Jack grasped her hand and let himself be pulled up to his feet.

"Right."

-------------------------------

Tony wasn't a believer by nature, but he prayed now. He gripped the door's handle as they managed to narrowly miss another car again. He reminded himself that it was time to breathe. His blue eyes widen as the Camry got closer and closer. He threw a look at Gibbs direction, the older man didn't look to disturbed by that they get rapidly closer to the mentioned vehicle. After Gibbs finished telling what he knew about the situation, which wasn't much, Tony had offered to drive. Gibbs had rebuffed him, saying that they needed to get there as fast they could. After the sixth close call, Tony mentioned Gibbs it wouldn't hurt if they got there alive, but his only reply was a cold glance.

With a sharp turn, they turned down the second exit, nearly getting hit by another car. Tony ran a shaky hand through his short dark brown hair. And swore to every deity, to never let Gibbs drive again. As they sped down one of the side streets, Tony spotted two cars just across the road.

"Boss, we're here." Gibbs nodded at him, his ice blue eyes never leaving the road. As soon as they came to halt, Gibbs was out of the car, Tony not far behind him. There was not two, but three cars. One, which Tony identified as Kate's car gad obviously ran into the wall, its front was ruined, one of the black sedans stood crashed to its side the other slightly behind them, seemly unhurt.

"Tony." Called Gibbs, his voice was commanding even though he was whispering. He turned toward his boss to see what caught his attention. A black van had just arrived two buildings down, four men climbed out and made their way into the factory building. They carried only guns, if Tony saw it right.

Gibbs signed go him to move out to the right side, and cover him while Gibbs would move to the right, and up to the parking van. Tony watched Gibbs walk up to the van, put away his gun before he knocked on the van's door, a smile pasted on his face. Tony saw the driver's surprised face, before Gibbs knocked him out, and handcuffed him to door.

Gibbs pulled out his gun, and motioned Tony to proceed. Tony slowly get closer and looked inside for a moment. He signed to Gibbs the he didn't see anyone. So they entered the building, as they went they investigated every room and corridor. As they reached the stairs, they heard shooting from upstairs. Neither hesitated in rushing up the stairs.

----------------------

"Not again." Moaned Jack when they came face to face with four armed men. Jack saw instantly that they weren't the rescue team. Their guns were aimed at them, and they wore similar clothes to their earlier attackers. He looked at Kate with big pleading eyes.

"Kate." He whined. "They didn't know either the rules of hide-and-seek. I didn't want to play with them." Kate stared at him bewildered, she wasn't used to the O'Neill sayings. '_Oh well, he'll explain it to me later.'_ He quirked an eyebrow, closely imitating his brother. She seemed to catch up. And ducked behind one of the machine, as Jack slipped under one of the other sides of the row.

Shoots were fired on both ends, and one of the bad guys had started to inch his way towards Jack's hiding place, when Jethro and Tony arrived. Finally. The bad guys got in crossfire. It didn't take long for the Gibbs' team to take out the last of them. Jack watched the gunfight from one of the machine's top.

"Kate, Jack, are you all right?" he heard Jethro asking. Kate unfolded herself from behind her foxhole. Jack climbed down, and walked up to Gibbs. Tony checked if any of the bad guys were alive and secured the ones who lived. As soon as he got within reaching distant to Gibbs, his brother scooped Jack up in his arms and didn't let him go despite Jack's protest. And to tell the truth, Jack didn't want to be let go.


	14. Chapter 14

Beta: **zeilfanaat  
**

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**Chapter 14**

At the time the police cars and the ambulances arrived, Jack started to feel his aching chest again. Jack concentrated on his body, trying to find out which part of his body was injured this time. His ribs ached if there was pressure on them, but luckily they didn't feel broken, and his knees and elbows were scraped up. His head felt a bit fuzzy, most probably a concussion; he just wasn't sure if it was from the car crash, his fall from the roof or the fall down the stairs. He squirmed in Jethro's arms; causing his brother to look down at him. Gibbs looked worried, and then he spotted an ambulance.

"Kate, go and get yourself checked out," Gibbs ordered to his colleague, before he himself headed toward the ambulance. He placed Jack down in front of the car's bumper, before he called out for one of the medics to come and examine Jack. After the medic arrived, Jethro kneeled down beside Jack.

"Hey, Jack, this man will examine you. I will go there and talk with my team and the police. I will be back shortly." Jethro waited for Jack's nod of affirmation before he stood up and headed toward the gathering group.

Jack watched his brother retreating, before the medic called his attention to himself.

"Hey there kiddo, my name is Chris. How are you feeling?" the man asked in sing song voice. Jack really heated this aspect of his new condition, everybody talked at him like he was an idiot. He was tempted to roll his eyes, but he but he refrained from doing just that.

"Am fine," he said, trying to sound convincing, but it didn't really look like the man believed him. Chris, the medic shone a penlight in Jack's eyes. Jack squirmed and tried to pull away from the blinding flash light.

"I think there is a little concussion here."

"Really?" Jack asked back sarcastically, but the man either didn't hear his sarcasm, or just ignored it.

"Hands up, I would like to see if there are any other injures."

-------------

Jethro ran his fingers through his short hair. The situation just started to sink in; he had almost lost the boy before he could really get to know him. He headed toward Tony, to ask for a report about the situation. He looked back to see the medic pull Jack's T-shirt over the boy's head. Then he noticed Kate heading toward his nephew. Their eyes locked for a moment, and she smiled at him reassuringly, letting him know she would take care of Jack for now. He nodded to her, before turning his full attention back to the situation at hand.

"DiNizzo, report!" he called out. Tony turned toward him.

"Hey, Boss. How is the kid?" Gibbs arched an eyebrow, his expression saying 'none of your business, now start talking'. "Oh right, we found three survivors. One was taken by the ambulance, and I arranged for the other two to be shipped to the NCIS Headquarters."

"I want to question them as soon as we get back. Call Abby and tell her I want a full report on all of them." Jethro turned toward the closest policeman and said, "Officer, this is an NCIS case, could you secure the scene."

"Yes, sir."

"Tony, when will Ducky arrive?"

"He is on his way; he is expected to arrive in about 15 minutes. The director sends another NCIS team too."

"Alright Tony, take a few man with you and check the cars. When the other team arrives, send them to the other scenes. And report back as soon as you've finished. I'm heading back to the office with Kate and Jack. You can reach me on my cell."

------------

Kate sat down beside Jack. The boy's small torso was battered, his ribcage looked slightly bluish, and his left elbow looked red and swollen.

"How are you doing?" she asked and smiled as the boy rolled his eyes, his expression screaming 'not you too!'.

"Fine. You?"

"Me too." They sat side by side in silence. She watched Gibbs with Tony for a while, before she spoke again, her gaze resting on Jack's untamed mope of hair. "So, will you tell me how you knew we were followed, or where you learnt the military sign language?"

She saw a flash of brown eyes, before Jack's gaze settled on Gibbs' form. His voice was soft, slightly trembling. "My daddy taught me the signs; he sometimes took me out to the woods, and we went camping and all." His brown eyes glittered with unshed tears, as he wiped his hands over his nose. His face mirrored innocence and sorrow. Kate's feelings went out for this little boy, and she placed her arms around his tiny shoulders. He went rigid under her touch, before he melted to her side. She absentmindedly noticed he hadn't answered all of her questions, but it could wait.

--------------

Jack felt bad about lying to Kate. But it was necessary; it was part of his work. He let himself be comforted by her. He saw Gibbs walking up toward them. He sighed; he knew he hadn't fully convinced Kate, and Jethro would be an even harder issue. His brother was like a dog with a bone, never letting go of anything he thought to be important. Just like their late Father.

The medic came back with a band in his hand. He smiled sweetly at Kate, before he kneeled down before Jack. "Now, your ribs aren't broken, only bruised, but to ease the pain, I need to bandage it," Chris said in his best sing song voice, while he glanced at Kate every once in a while. Jack rolled his eyes, while Kate hid a grin by turning her head away. After wrapping Jack's chest with a bandage, he turned toward Kate. "He is fine, as far as we can tell without a full check up. Just a few bruised ribs, scratch marks and bruises here and there. I will take both of you to the Hospital, if you are ready." Chris smiled. Gibbs just arrived to hear the last sentence, his blue eyes flashed for a moment.

"Then we can go." The medic jumped, surprised and slightly frightened at Gibbs' sudden appearance so close to him.

"Mhm, yeah. Right away," Chris mumbled, as he hurried toward the front of ambulance.

"And he did it again, another brave man running from Gibbs," Kate said, a smile in her voice. "Tell me Jack, was your Dad like this too, or is this only Gibbs' custom?" Jack grinned at her, and his whole face lit up.

"It's a family tradition."

---------------------------

After the visit to the Hospital, Gibbs drove them back to the NCIS. Tony arrived back at about the same time. Gibbs walked with them to his desk.

"Kate, you stay with Jack."

"But Gibbs, I am fine. I'm able to work."

"You stay _here_." Jethro emphasized the last word, so his tone reflected that he didn't allow any argument. With one hard look, he left them behind and strolled toward the interrogation rooms.

"Well, since you asked it so nicely," Kate huffed in irritation. She promptly sat down, and sulked. Jack couldn't help but snicker at her behavior. Kate gave him an evil eye, as she said, "So, young man, we have time to talk." Jack's eyes widened, and he quickly looked around for an escape route.

---------------

Gibbs stormed into the interrogation room. His face mirrored his anger. He slammed the door behind him, and strolled up to the man before him. With a bang, his hand landed on the table, just beside the other man's hand, and he leant forward, so his face was only inches away from the other's, as he snarled, "You attacked what is mine, and I want answers, NOW!"

The other man tried to pull away from Gibbs' sudden attack, and collect himself, but Gibbs didn't give him time. "I don't care which one of you will talk, but I promise you, one of you will." Gibbs straightened up, his cold blue eyes never leaving the man's face as he coldly smiled at him. "And I think I don't have to tell you what they will do to you and your friends in prison, Captain Booth." The man recoiled like he was slapped, hearing his name and rank.

"I am not afraid of your threats."

"I don't make idle threats." The man snorted, not believing in Gibbs' threat. Jethro's gaze narrowed, a thoughtful expression came over his face. "I wonder what your friends will say when they find out you talked."

"I did no such thing," the man snarled, but his eyes reflected uncertainty and a tiny amount of fear. "You know nothing."

"Then tell me." Booth licked his lip; his eyes flickered toward the interrogation room's mirror wall. Gibbs, seeing the opportunity, bent forward. "Nobody is there, we are all alone, just you and me, no surveillance, no camera, nothing." Booth's gaze flickered toward Gibbs, then downward, as he started to talk to the table's top.

"I don't know much. The order came from above. They wanted the boy; no harm was to be done to him."

"But why?"

"He is special."

"Damn it, man! Answer me! Why?" Gibbs hissed as he slammed his hand on the table. Booth jerked back, his face reflecting his panic.

"I don't know the reasons. If nothing else, because he is O'Neill's brat."

"O'Neill as in Colonel Jack O'Neill?" The man nodded. "What you mean? What does it have to do with Jack O'Neill?" Booth looked even more nervous; his gaze flickered around the room without really stopping anywhere.

"He exposed one of our operations. He was placed on the hit list some time ago. But I don't know anything else; maybe it has nothing to do with this."


	15. Chapter 15

Thanks for reading and reviewing. Hope you will like this chapter too.

Beta: **zeilfanaat**

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**  
**

**Chapter 15**

The klaxons flared up, Daniel jumped to his feet, and started to run toward the control room. When he arrived, he saw Teal'c positioning himself to be able to see, and, if necessary, to help out in the Embarkation room. Sam was sitting in front of one of the main computers, with the General standing behind her. His gaze unconsciously wandered toward Jack's usual place; even in this chaos, that spot remained vacant. His attention was called back to the situation at hand by the General's voice.

"Who is it?"

"It's the Tok'ra's code." Sam's voice sounded hopeful. After Jack's de-ageing they had sent out requests for help to their allies. But Jack's sarcastic statement about their so called allies, 'They come only if they need something from us, not the other way around', seemed to prove to be true again. However, and Daniel was shamed to admit it, the SGC was running out of ways to help Jack O'Neill. They weren't any closer to the solution than they had been the day when the accident had occurred. If there was any hope, however small it may be, it lay solely in their allies' hands.

"Major, open the Iris."

They stood and waited. The event-horizon rippled, and the lone figure emerged through the Stargate. Daniel was relieved to see Jacob Carter; it seemed he wasn't the only one in the room who felt like that. The atmosphere seemed to lighten up a notch.

Sam and Hammond walked down to the Gate room, with Teal'c and Daniel closely behind them. As soon as they stepped in the room, Sam smiled brightly and threw her arms around her father's neck.

"Not that I am not happy to receive such a warm welcome but I would like to know why. And where is Jack?" Jacob felt Sam stiffen in his arms, saw Daniel's arms snake around himself, and even Teal'c looked disturbed by something. He looked questioningly toward his long time friend General George Hammond.

"Let's move this discussion to the meeting room."

-------------------

Just as Kate was about to ask Jack about how he had known they were being followed, she noticed Gibbs storming into the room. She told Jack to sit tight and stay here, while she talked to his uncle. Jack sighed in relief, as Kate hurried across the room. Within seconds, Jack had another companion though.

"Gibbs! Gibbs! I'd like to talk with you." She grabbed his arm, and turned Jethro to face her.

"Kate, I really don't have time for this." Gibbs was frustrated, and his blue eyes flashed in irritation; whatever he had found out, must have disturbed him more than he cared to admit. Kate felt her heart going out to him.

"He's your nephew," she added softly.

"Jack?" Gibbs looked confused. "What about Jack?"

"Gibbs, look, he's a young boy, who just recently lost his father. You're his only living relative, and without you, he is all alone in an unfamiliar place."

"Kate, I know this." He ran his fingers through his short hair, making it stand up in all directions. _Just like his nephew's,_ Kate mused.

"Maybe you know, but you don't act like that. Did you speak with him at all since he arrived? Ask him how he feels?" Kate watched as Jethro guiltily lowered his gaze. "He needs someone who he can trust, who will be there to support him, in particular after what happened today."

Gibbs looked toward Jack, who was seated on his desk with Abby at his side. Abby? Didn't he tell the girl to stay away from his nephew? Or just wanted? He really needed to talk to both of them. One Goth kid was way too much already. He resigned himself to the fact that he needed to confront his past, and start to talk with young Jack before he alienated his nephew too, like he had the boy's father.

"What have you gathered about him?"

"You are asking for my opinion or an analysis?"

"Oh, there is a difference?" Kate rolled her eyes in annoyance.

"He is a bright boy, intelligent, and acts mostly as any boy in his situation would."

"Mostly?" Kate bit her lip, while she thought how to raise her concern the best way.

"He knows the military signs. He noticed the car which was following us. I didn't notice how he did it! Don't get me wrong Gibbs, but something's amiss with the boy. There is an edge to him, something harder, colder almost … I don't know, I can't exactly say what it is. But the way he acted when we were under fire, how he thought and reacted, even when our lives were in danger… Like this type of things happened all the time. And his instincts, his reflexes… I don't know. I really don't know what to think." Kate looked troubled, her gaze wandering to Jack, who looked up at once, as if sensing that someone was watching him, and smiled when their eyes met. An answering smile was on her face, as she turned back toward Jethro, who was studying her with intense blue eyes. "But on the other hand, he is like any small boy, who likes to talk about anything and everything, especially the Simpsons." Gibbs arched a questioning eyebrow. "You should really watch more TV, then you would know what to talk about with Jack."

"Sure." Gibbs frowned. "Most of what you just told me, isn't that strange." Seeing Kate's disbelieving gaze, Jethro continued. "My father was a Marine. He taught Jack, my brother, and me from a very young age how to scout, how to follow the trail of the beast, and how to fight." Jethro shuddered, as he remembered. "So if my brother followed our father's teaching method, then I'm not surprised young Jack has such qualities."

Kate watched her boss and felt there was more to this 'teaching method' than Gibbs had just shared with her. A cold feeling settled in her stomach; somehow she didn't think she would really like to know the truth. But maybe that was the key to understanding; she needed to really know Gibbs and Jack.

-------------------------

Jacob listened to the explanation of what had been happening the last few weeks, and let Selmac answer.

"I would like to see what you have gathered so far to see if maybe I can help." Seeing Sam's hopeful expression he added. "But I would like to emphasise that we have never heard of any device like that."

"We understand, Selmac. Thank you for your help."

"That's no problem," Jacob answered.

Walter Harriman knocked on the door, his posture was tense. "General sir."

"What it is, Walter?"

"Sorry sir for disturbing you, but we just got news on the Colonel."

"Is he alright?" Daniel jumped out of his chair, his face reflecting his worry.

"Yes, sir. We intercepted the NCIS' and the local police's calls. The attackers were disabled, two of them are in NCIS' custody, and one is in the hospital. Captain Stark started to check out the identities, and it seems, so far they are all ex-NID. Agent Todd and the Colonel survived with a few injuries, nothing serious."

"That's brilliant news," Hammond announced with a real smile on his face.

"Yes, sir." Walter smiled too. "Sir, I almost forgot. Lieutenant Andrews reported an order was issued about a case investigation here, at Cheyenne Mountain. And Agent Gibbs booked himself and his team a flight onto the next military plane tomorrow."

-----------------

Jack narrowed his eyes when he noticed Kate rushing toward Jethro, wondering what she was so desperate to discuss with his brother. But then his concentration was demanded elsewhere, as Abby popped up beside him, and they started chatting. It looked like she was an avid Simpsons fan too. He really started to like her, despite the fact that this was only their second meeting so far. There was something about her, the same something he had first noticed in Daniel, and later in Sam. She was a non-understood genius scientist, just like his own kids. Gee, that sounded funny coming from a kid.

While most of his attention was on the Goth girl, at a subconscious level, thanks to years of military service, he was monitoring the activities in the rest of the room. He sensed Gibbs' presence to his left, and Jack turned his head slightly to see his brother better without getting caught. His brown eyes flickered toward Abby, who was explaining which opening scene was her favourite.

"…and then a giant foot stepped on them."

"D'oh." They shared a grin. "The one I like best is where they turn into a reptilian like Godzilla."

"Yeah, that's a funny one too," Abby said, while she tinkered with her metal spiked collar. Jack felt someone watching him, studying him. He kept himself from seeking out the possible danger. "And who is your favourite?"

'Homer' sprang the answer to his mind, but he knew younger kids, like Cassie, liked Bart and Lisa better. "Bart, of course. He is awesome, has a cool skate board and all." He grinned. Abby nodded, but her grey eyes narrowed like she had just noticed something.

"Gibbs is watching us, hope he won't rant again about bad influence on the young mind." She said it with an amused glint in her eyes. Jack turned around to see it himself, while scanning the room to see if anyone else was looking at them. As he fully turned toward Gibbs, his gaze met Kate's, who was still standing beside his brother. They shared a smile. Jack used the opportunity to study Kate and Jethro. They stood close to each other. Their expression and body language screamed confrontation, and if Jack needed to guess, he would bet it was about him.

He turned back to Abby, his brown eyes glittered with mischief. Abby looked a bit shocked when she saw his evil grin, before an answering smile tugged at her own lips.

"What are you up?" she asked, her voice full of glee. Jack adapted the 'Who me?' expression, which just fuelled Abby's impish mood. "Tell me."

"What about a bit of a dress up game, Goth-girl?" Abby's eyes widened as the implication sank in. Her gaze flickered toward Gibbs.

"He will kill us, me."

"Tony said we will leave tomorrow morning for a week or so."

"It's brilliant, Master."

"Of course, my young apprentice," he said in his best Dark Lord imitation. They shared another laugh before they started to scheme.


	16. Chapter 16

Thanks for reading and reviewing. Hope you will like this chapter too.

Beta: **zeilfanaat - **what can I say, without zeilfanaat this chapter wouldn't be as enjoyable as it is.

**Chapter 16**

Jack studied his reflection in the mirror; it was still strange to see a child's face looking back at him. He glanced at the pile of clothes Abby had given him; he hadn't dared to ask her where she had gotten them. A small smile played on his face, as he imagined Jethro's face when he would see him. It was time to start dressing; Abby had said she would be back soon, and he didn't want to get caught in his underwear. It would be plain embarrassing. He opened his jeans, and let them slide down his legs. His side still ached after yesterday's little escapade. He eased down his T-shirt, trying not to moan as the sore muscles were pulled by the motion. Not for the first time, he wished he had his old body back; it was so much more suited to such abuse.

He stepped closer to the clothes; they were still in the bag in which Abby had brought them. He randomly pulled out a piece of clothing, and stared at it with disbelief.

"Oh for crying out loud."

------------------------------

Kate sat at her table, running over the last reports on her attackers, when she noticed Abby was skipping in the office. The fact alone that she was skipping, gave away she was excited about something. Kate could clearly see what effort it took Abby to not start grinning openly. Small things, like how she was biting her lower lip, or how the corner of her mouth started to curl into a smile repeatedly, or the two small dimples on her cheek. Kate had a feeling the Goth girl was up to some mischief.

"Hello Abby," Kate greeted her, when she stopped before Kate's desk.

"Hey Kate." Abby leaned forward, her eyes flickering around as if to see who else could be listening, and her voice got lower as she asked, "Can I borrow your eyeliner?"

"Sure, it's here somewhere," Kate said, while she pulled over her handbag, and started to search for the asked object. It was a strange request, but Abby was strange too. After a short search, she finally located the eyeliner, and was about to hand it over to Abby, when Kate saw the younger woman's mischievous expression resurface in full force. Kate tightened her hold on the eyeliner when Abby tried to pull it away. "What are you up to?" Kate asked with a small secretive smile on her face. Abby grinned, and her grey eyes sparkled with glee. Kate had a distant feeling she was better off not knowing. "On the other hand," she said, as she let go of the eyeliner. "I don't want to know." Abby just grinned at her as she hid the eyeliner in one of her many pockets.

"Don't worry, you will soon find out," Abby called back, as she rushed out of the room.

"What was this?" Tony enquired. He was leaning forward toward Kate's station to better hear what was going on. Kate though was as much in the dark as Tony, but she didn't let him in on this fact. Instead, she gave him a mysterious, knowing smile, before she turned back to her work. "Kate, come on, tell me. What's going on?" DiNozzo tried again, his face betraying his barely contained curiosity.

"I don't know what you mean."

"Yes you do."

"Don't."

"Do."

"Don't."

"Do."

"Tony!" Kate's voice held no small amount of warning. She gave him a frustrated look; he could be a pest if he wanted to be. But that didn't mean she would tell him everything. What would be the fun in that? "If you so desperately need to know, go and find out. If you can manage it, of course." She smiled at him sweetly.

Tony straightened up, and narrowed his gaze when he heard Kate's challenge. "I will." He stood up and looked around, hoping to see Abby, but the girl was long gone by now. Upon seeing she wasn't in the room, he headed toward Abby's lab.

Kate watched him go, before she turned back to her work, and tried to go back to the reports. Tried, that is. She couldn't concentrate; her thoughts always wandered to Abby and her little scheme. Because Kate was almost sure Abby was scheming something; something amusing, funny, and memorable. She placed the reports on the table, put her elbow on her desk, and her chin on her palm. Her fingers played on the desk's surface as she thought. She had two options. She could just sit here and wait, till she found out what was going on, or she could go and get a camera to record it. Tough decision… how to get a camera? Maybe Ducky had one. She grinned, jumped to her feet and rushed toward the morgue.

--------

Gibbs stepped into the office, and came to a halt. He pursed his lips and frowned; he didn't see Kate nor Tony. A flitting thought that something was going on flashed through his mind, but he dismissed it as he walked to his desk with his hot cup of coffee in his hand. He sat down, leaned back comfortably in his chair, and took a big gulp from his cup.

Something else was missing too, but what? He rubbed his chin as he thought. 'Jack!' His eyes widened. 'He hadn't seen Jack all day!' As soon as realisation hit, he jumped to his feet. He pulled out his cell, and dialled.

"_Hello, it's Agent Todd, NCIS."_

"Kate, where are you?"

"_I just __came down to see Ducky."_

"Is Jack with you?"

"_No, I __haven't seen him for a few hours now."_

"Alright thanks." He had hardly disconnected the call, when he dialled again.

"_DiNozzo._"

"Is Jack with you?"

"_No, Boss. I didn't see him today." _Tony's voice was muffled, and Jethro could hear something breaking in the background.

"Where are you?" he asked suspiciously.

"Uhm, in Abby's lab." 

„What have you broken?"

"_Nothing, Boss. I swear."_ Gibbs would have sworn he heard glass shatter from the other end of the line again, but before he could question it further, Tony forestalled him. _"Uhm, Boss, I need to go. I will be up in the office shortly," _Tony said, as he hurriedly put down the phone. Gibbs entertained the thought of hunting down DiNozzo, but rejected the idea, thinking he probably didn't really want to know what Tony had done this time. He would find out of this transgression sooner or later anyway. His priority was to find his nephew. He was sure the boy was still in the building, since the guards had gotten special orders not to allow Jack out of the building without him.

--------

Kate was just about to greet Ducky, when Gibbs' call came in. When Gibbs ended the call, she was sure of two things. First, Abby's scheme, Jack and her eyeliner were connected somehow; just how she wasn't sure yet, but she knew she would find out. Second, she needed to get that camera.

"Hi, Ducky."

"Caitlin, you came to watch the autopsy." She pulled up her nose a bit, as she shook her head.

"No, not this time, maybe another time."

"Then to what do I owe this pleasant visit?" He watched her with intense blue eyes, while he pulled down his glove.

"I would like to borrow your digital camera."

"And for what propose, my dear?"

She grinned at him. "It's just a hunch, but if I'm not mistaken, it involves Abby, Jack, an eyeliner and Gibbs."

"Oh my, on my." Ducky smiled. "Poor Jethro." But his tone didn't confirm his words. "I have the camera somewhere here." He turned toward his desk. "You know, my dear Caitlin, the camera's history goes back to the fifth century BC. Chinese and Greek philosophers described the basic principles of optics, and the camera…" Kate steeled herself for another long lecture, but she was sure the camera would be worth it . She leaned back against the wall, as she started to listen to Ducky's rambling. "…and in the late 17th century, Isaac Newton discovered that white light is composed of different colours…"

------------------

Tony was determined to find out what was going on. He wouldn't admit it, but Kate's rebuffs hurt him. He could still clearly hear the first mockery, just shortly after the boy had arrived.

"_I don't get it. __Ever since he arrived, you don't even notice me anymore."_

"_You know Tony, that's just because he really is a 6-year-old." _

Anyway, he would find Abby, and find out what she was scheming with Kate. Tony stepped inside Abby's lab, and noticed a long legged, platinum blonde, beautiful woman, standing at Abby's station. She leaned forward as she studied something on the computer screen. She hadn't noticed his arrival yet. He thought he would surprise her, so he walked up to her silently, and was just about to greet her, when his cell rang. This scared the hell out of him, and her too. She jumped and knocked over several items on the desk. He smiled at her in apology, as he picked up his phone.

"DiNozzo."

"_Is Jack with you?"_

"No, Boss. I didn't see him today." Tony noticed one of the instruments dangerously tilting on the end of the table, and he reached out to stabilise it. But he wasn't the only one who tried to reach it. They managed to stabilise the device, but a glass fell onto the floor in the process.

"_Where are you?"_ He heard Gibbs' suspicious tone, and he knew he needed to finish up fast, before Gibbs came down for him and hauled his ass back up.

"Uhm, in Abby's lab."

„_What have you broke__n?"_

"Nothing, Boss. I swear." The woman stepped backward to get out of the shattered glass, only to collide into another table. Tony heard something else break too. He winced as he said "Uhm, Boss I need to go. I will be up in the office shortly." He hurriedly disconnected the call.

"Hi, I'm Tony, Tony DiNozzo." He smiled at her. She looked up, and his gaze met the most brilliant green eyes he had ever met.

"Nice to meet you, Tony," she purred. Her smile was seductive, almost predatory. "My name is Tina Andrews."

---------------------

"I'm back." Abby's cheerful voice announced her arrival. Jack slowly turned toward her, awaiting her reaction at his attire. She just looked at him with wide eyes and open mouth, before she muttered under her breath, "Gibbs will kill us."

"Just you."

"Gee thanks."

"It's nothing. I'm his nephew after all; he can't kill me, it would be murder."

"And killing me?"

"Accident at work?" Jack shrugged innocently. Abby couldn't help but snort.

"By the way, nice touch with the black hair dyes."

"Ya think, I thought it would be a bit of overkill, but I could not resist."

"Nah. I think I have a bit of blue here somewhere."

"Blue?" Jack arched an eyebrow in amusement.

"Yes, why?"

"Like Air force blue." Her gaze widened dramatically as the implication sank in.

"You are right, it would be like a red rag to a bull." Her eyes glittered with unholy glee as she turned back toward Jack with another bottle of hair dye in her hand. "But maybe, a bit of Marine green would help to ease the tension." Jack held up his hands, as if he was warding off some evil.

"You won't get anywhere near me with that colour," he announced gamely, a smirk playing on his lips.

"Oh you think so, Fly-boy," she said, as she walked closer to Jack. At the Fly-boy comment, his gaze flickered with amusement.

"Try me, Goth-Girl."

--------------------

Teal'c knocked on the General's door, before he stepped inside. Walter Harriman had informed him of the NCIS' expected arrival. Since O'Neill's de-ageing, Teal'c had felt the need to take over the role as protector from O'Neill. When O'Neill was obligated to leave, his worries had increased. How could he protect his warrior-brother, if he wasn't even with O'Neill? Before O'Neill's departure, he had visited Teal'c in his room, as if he had sensed the Jaffa's discomfort. They talked and Teal'c swore to remain with '_O'Neill's kids'_ as his friend called their scientist team-mates, and protect them if needed, including from themselves.

Teal'c did what O'Neill had asked from him; he looked after Daniel Jackson and Samantha Carter, reminded them to eat and sleep occasionally. It always amused the big Jaffa how they protested when O'Neill called them kids, and yet both behaved like one. When he had once asked O'Neill for an explanation, the grey-haired man had just shrugged, saying 'scientist.' Teal'c didn't understand it at first, but now he had seen and studied many Tauri scientists, and they tended to share this very same attribute. But now O'Neill would return, and considering the last few days' events and news, Teal'c felt it was his duty to take over O'Neill's protection.

"General Hammond, I was informed that O'Neill and Special Agent Gibbs will arrive this afternoon at Peterson. I would like to be with the welcoming team."

"Sorry Teal'c, I can't allow that. Agent Gibbs arranged that we won't get the paperwork until tomorrow. Officially we shouldn't be aware of their presence till then."

"I understand, General Hammond." Teal'c didn't like it, but he did understand; they could give away their position and knowledge if they moved now.

"Teal'c, once they arrive _officially_, I would like SG-1 along with Jacob to act as a contact and a buffer between the NCIS and the SGC." Teal'c nodded his understanding.

--------------------

Jacob let Selmac take over his body, while he studied the other occupants of the room. He enjoyed the dynamic of the team. And despite the fact that he didn't understand a thing without Selmac's knowledge, he enjoyed this look into the scientific mindset.

Daniel pushed another reference book in front of Selmac, as he animatedly explained what he had gathered so far. Sam leaned toward them, listening intently to Daniel, and adding further information from what she had gathered from the device.

"As I thought," echoed Selmac's deep voice through Jacob's mind as he spoke out loud.

"You know what this is?" Daniel asked hopefully, and Sam looked up at him, with hope in her blue eyes.

"No, I never heard anything like that." Selmac didn't understand the dejected look on the others' faces. Jacob nudged the Tok'ra to let him talk with the others. "I am sorry. You need to understand that, for someone like Selmac to come across something unknown, is equal to a small miracle."

"We understand, but we had hoped for something more."

"I'm really sorry, Sammy." Sam's smile was sad, dejected.

"Just because the writing and the technology didn't seem familiar, doesn't mean we won't find some clue, or imprint."

-------------------

Tony was the first to notice the duo. Kate, upon seeing his perplexed expression, followed his gaze, and could not help but chuckle. She hurriedly picked up the camera and made a few shots of the duo, and then of Gibbs, who was still oblivious to the pair behind him. Then, just to get blackmail material for later, she hurriedly made a picture of Tony's dumbfound expression too.

"We need to departure soon," Gibbs grumbled. His next question, "Where could they… be?" was answered when he turned around. His jaw dropped, and his eyes widened for a moment, before he closed off his expressions.

Jethro's mind went blank, as he tried to process what he saw. There stood Jack; his hair was black, as were his lips, and if Gibbs wasn't mistaken, there was paint on his eyelashes. He wore black leather trousers with chains, and a T-shirt, or at least something which once had been a T-shirt. There were more holes than there was material. And there was a dog collar around his nephew's neck.

"Abby?" Jethro's voice wasn't loud, but it carried a silent threat. Abby gulped.

"Hi Gibbs." She tried to go with the innocent routine.

"Hey Uncle Gibbs, look what Abby got me." Jack beamed at him, as he whirled around to show his new clothes. Gibbs thought to see a small knife strapped to his nephew's leg, but he wasn't sure; the burning skull on a blade printed on the T-shirt's back distracted him a bit. He noticed the boy was still talking, and he tried to concentrate on what he was saying. He could plan Abby's unfortunate accident later. "But it's not like Abby's, there wasn't one small enough for me."

"No?" He had finally found his voice again.

"Nope. So we bought it in the pet shop." And that was it, the last thing he heard before he snapped.

"Abby!"

---------------------

A lone figure watched the gathering group below; her features were hidden by the shadows. Piercing eyes watched the group leave, before the figure pulled out a cell from her left pocket.

"Colonel Simmons," rasped a voice from the other side of the line.

"Gibbs and his team left just now," whispered a soft feminine voice. "Their estimated time of arrival at Peterson Air Force Base is about 1600."

"And the boy?"

"Gibbs took him too. It's not confirmed, but my source informed me that the boy will stay with one of agents at all times."

"Keep your position until further notice." And with that the line went dead. She huffed in annoyance, as she slipped back her phone in her pocket.

"Miss Andrews?!" Her eyes widened for a moment before she was able to school her face, and slip on a friendly mask. She turned toward the Director of the NCIS, her features meeting the corridor's light, and her long blond hair and piercing green eyes glittered.

"Director," she greeted, her voice getting a seductive edge as she almost purred out the word.


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter - 17

Beta: **zeilfanaat - **what can I say, without zeilfanaat this chapter wouldn't be as enjoyable as it is.

Jack stood before his Father, with Jethro at his side. Both boys were about the same age, only a year separating them. They had a similar build and look, with their unruly honey coloured hair. But their eyes, their eyes were what really set them apart, in their Father's opinion. While Jethro had inherited their Father's piercing blue eyes, Jack had his mother's soft chocolate brown ones. The eyes of the woman whose name was never allowed to be said out loud with their Father present, whose very presence in their lives was erased, except for two things. Two soft brown eyes.

Both boys were tired and dirty. Their clothes were torn by their recent exercise. This was the last week of their Father's vacation, and the man wanted to make sure his sons understood that life wasn't fair, that they would need to fight for everything in their lives.

Some of his friends once joked that the boys could salute and stand for attention, long before they could walk. Their Father had laughed along, but the truth was closer to their words than any of his friends thought.

Their Father was a hard task master, a soldier in heart and mind, who needed to bring up his sons all alone, and sometimes he forgot what it was like to be a little boy. He handled the boys with an iron fist.

Their Father taught them how to fight, how to track someone in the wild or in the city, and how to survive. The lessons were painful, but the lessons were learnt, and in the end they survived and became stronger. 'What doesn't kill you, makes you stronger,' as their Father loved to say.

After a week in the wild with their Father, training in the Minnesota woods, both boys were exhausted. They were ready to collapse, their bodies had slowly reached their limits, but both of them stood at attention: their bodies rigid, their hands at their sides, and waiting for their Father to acknowledge them.

The man watched the boys' efforts to stand still, or standing at all, before he ordered them to rest.

"Tomorrow we are going home, but before that, there is the last test." He pulled out a small bell from his pocket and showed it to the boys. They wearily watched their Father's every move. Last year's test had been hard enough; their Father had taken them into the woods, and left them on their own with a knife and a canteen, with as mission to find the way home. "Your mission this time is to track me down, and secure this bell; the one who didn't get the bell, won't be eating tonight." The man gathered his pack. "When you hear a whistle, you can start tracking. Do you understand?"

"Yes, sir," came the boys' response. Their Father nodded and left the two boys behind as he disappeared among the woods. Both boys knew the other was their foe that day; as their Father would say, just the winner could have the price.

When the whistle sounded, both of them started to run toward the woods. Suddenly Jack felt something connecting with his side, and he tumbled down. Jack curled up, rolled to soften his fall, and landed on his knees. His side hurt. He looked up just in time to see his brother pull back his leg from the kick.

"Sorry lil bro, but dinner will be mine," Jethro said as he hurried forward, leaving Jack behind. Jack ground his teeth together in frustration. He clenched his hands so hard, his knuckles turned white.

"I won't lose today," he muttered angrily, as hit hard into the ground. "I won't lose." He got to his feet, and started to track his Father. Jack decided that day he wouldn't lose, and if he didn't lose, Father would love him too, because Father would see Jack was as good as Jethro. And this time he wouldn't be the one in the corner, while the others ate and laughed.

"I won't lose."

-------------------

Jack was jarred awake when turbulence shook the plane. Jack blinked away the last remains of the dream. He sat there without moving for a long time. He hadn't dreamed about his Father a long time. He blinked and looked around the aircraft.

Jethro sat not far from him; he was studying his laptop, and most probably going through some information for the upcoming mission. Tony was harassing one of the pilots, a young brunette with big grey eyes. The woman's expression clearly said she didn't want Tony near her. Kate and Abby sat on the other side of the cargo hold; they were muttering to each other, and glanced toward Tony from time to time. From their expressions and muffled giggles, Jack would bet their amusement's main cause was DiNozzo. And of course, there was Ducky Mallard, his eyes closed, most probably asleep. He was a strange man, even to Jack's standards, with a love to rant about anything. The older man had reminded him of Daniel a bit.

Clothes rustled to his left, and he turned his gaze toward the noise. Jethro moved closer to him, so they could sit beside each other. Neither said a word for a minute or two. It wasn't too much of a surprise; after all, neither of them were touchy-feely guys. Well, not if their feelings were on the line.

"We should talk," Jethro broke the silence.

"Yeah." Both of them nodded and said nothing. Jack almost rolled his eyes, but with heroic effort he stopped the gesture. This conversation felt just like in the old times, but they should talk to each other. After all, both of them were adults now. Well mostly. Anyway, he knew he should say something. Anything. Uhm… "I like the Simpsons." What?! Why did he say that? He could hit himself for his stupidity.

"Kate mentioned." Jack arched an eyebrow and looked toward the gossiping duo. "She thinks we should talk," Jethro continued absentmindedly. "I think it's a good idea, I wanted to talk with you. … Ah, I'm not good at talking."

"It's no problem, it's family tradition." Jack smiled, one of his rueful smiles. Jethro laughed as he shook his head.

"You are right. It's just not the way of the Gibbs'," Jethro said as he ruffled Jack's hair.

"O'Neill's," Jack snarled back, half joking, half serious.

"Yes, you are." Jack couldn't help but beam at his brother's words. Jethro cleared his throat.

"So, The Simpsons. Any good?"

"You haven't seen The Simpsons??" Jack's mouth's hung open in disbelief. "Of course not. You don't even have a TV."

"Hey, I have a TV."

"You don't."

"Yes, I have." Jack looked at him funny. "What?!"

"Nothing." Jack shrugged helplessly as he tried to explain his reaction. "It's just… you should have said 'I do'. Then I would have countered with 'don't', then you would have said, 'do', and so on."

"Oh, I see." No he didn't, if Jethro's confused expression was saying anything.

"When I was… with Dad, he and Daniel usually do that. It's kinda fun."

"Who is Daniel?"

"Dad's colleague, they were friends. He is a scientist, but in a good way," Jack added in a reassuring manner. Jethro wasn't sure how to take this comment, but he filed away everything to analyse later. He suspected young Jack was talking about Dr. Jackson, who was the only person named Daniel he could remember among Jack's colleagues and acquaintances.

"What is he like?"

"Who? Daniel?" Jack asked back, with confusion written on his childish face. "He is Daniel. A bit of a geekish scientist mixed with good survival instincts and of course he's all for 'talk, don't fight'."

"Talk, don't fight?" Jethro amusement clearly showed through his voice. "Let me guess, one of your dad's sayings?"

"Yep."

"And what is he doing?"

'Working.' It was on Jack's lips, but he didn't want to jeopardise this first fragile civil conversation they had in almost 20 years. So he said instead, "Military stuff." Jethro rolled his eyes in annoyance, while Jack noted the eye rolling thing as maybe another family thing.

--------------

Kate watched Gibbs and Jack as they talked. First they were just sitting beside each other, then there was a bit of smile and a laugh. Even Gibbs laughed. She had never heard him laugh before; he sounded carefree and somehow younger. She could feel an answering smile forming on her lips at the sound. She wouldn't mind hearing Gibbs' laugh again.

Abby cleared her throat. Kate felt her face heating up, as she turned her attention back toward Abby. The younger woman wore an amused expression, with knowing twinkling in her eyes.

"What? They are cute together."

"Yes of course." Abby's voice sounded insufferably knowing, and her widening smile didn't help, it just made Kate blush even more. But luckily, she was saved from further embarrassment by the arriving Tony.

"I have a date." He looked smug and satisfied as he announced it.

"Tony, this is a small plane." Abby grinned in delight at Kate's words. The confused look on Tony's face just fuelled the girls' amusement.

"What do you mean? She gave me her number."

"Yeah sure. But that doesn't mean it's a date," explained Abby.

"It's her number. She liked me and it's a date."

"No, it's not. Except if she works for the Joke line in her free time," Kate added the final nail with her sweet smile which she reserved for Tony's down floes. It was always fun to tease him.

"Huh?" Tony looked from one woman to the other, his face full of suspicion. "You are just yanking my chains right?"

"Just call the number, Tony," Abby added helpfully with a matching smile on her face. Tony's gaze flickered from one face to the other, before he turned around and pulled out his phone to try the number. Kate heard Tony mumbled curses as the Joke hotline answered his call. _Poor Tony, oh yeah, it was so much fun_. She couldn't help but grin at her friend's misfortune.

--------------

Harry Maybourne worriedly typed in another code. His leg tapped a rhythm, as his gaze flickered over the computer screen. What he read made his blood run cold. It wasn't good. Not good at all.

He hesitated for a minute, as he calculated the risk, before he clicked on the tiny icon on the top-left corner. A small window jumped up, and he typed in another access code. It was now or never. If his codes still worked, a big if, they would be on his trail in just a few minutes.

He scrolled down the access logs, before he found the one that looked the most promising. 'ReVivo' alias relive. He opened the file, scanned the first few lines before he hit the print icon. A light blipping sound signalled they were after him, the printing had never felt so long. The last page finally came out, and he hurriedly disconnected his computer. He ran his fingers through his hair before he massaged his face.

"The things I do for you, Jack," he snorted, and shook his head in disbelief at his own actions. Then he stood and started to gather his stuff. He needed to leave, the sooner the better.


	18. Chapter 18

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_**I would like to thank my Beta**_** zeilfanaat**_** for her hard work, and patient which made this story easier to read and enjoy. **_

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**Okay tell me what you think? It's the 6****th**** if not 7th version so far. **

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**Lost Brother – Chapter 18**

As soon as the plane landed, Kate decided to corner Gibbs and question him about his chat with Jack. She hoped he had managed to put his worries at ease, whatever they were. Maybe he had. After all, they looked more at ease with each other after their talk. On the other hand, you could never be sure with Gibbs. He was the master of avoidance when his personal feelings were on the line. She pasted a smile on her face, and stepped in Gibbs way, trapping him between herself and the airplane, so he couldn't run.

"So Gibbs, have you managed to clear the air? How did the_ talk_ go?" She emphasised; she didn't want Gibbs _accidentally_ misinterpreting her.

"It went well, really well actually." Gibbs' absent-minded answer raised her suspicion. He usually used such an aversion if he didn't want to talk about something. It wasn't the answer she was looking for. She narrowed her eyes as she asked, "And you talked about …?" She trailed off, trying to force him to answer. A dark look was her first answer, before he growled.

"Look Kate, it's not your business." Gibbs glared at her, and turned away to check something. "Where are those damn cars, anyway."

"Gibbs, you yourself said you needed to find out something personal about your brother. You were the one who thought that maybe young Jack was the only one who could answer your question…"

"I know that," he snapped, his fingers running through his hair in frustration. "Kate, we talked."

"About?"

"Lot of things, the Simpsons, and well… mostly just about the Simpsons."

Kate tried to hide her amused smile at his uneasy expression. She never would have thought she would see the _Great_Jethro Gibbs sweat so much because of such an ordinary thing as a talk. Of course it was Gibbs, with his macho attitude; not some touchy-feely guy. She knew that these sort of things were harder for him. But she also realised they were not just talking about Jethro's feelings, but about a little boy who had just lost his father. She hardened her heart towards Gibbs' comfort – or lack thereof - and tried to look menacing, which, by Gibbs' confused look, she didn't succeed pulling off.

"You need to talk to him. It's as much for Jack's own good as it's for yours." Gibbs rolled his eyes in a very Jack-like manner. She had noticed over the last few hours, that Jethro and Jack had started to adapt some of the other's mannerisms.

"I will. I thought I could go and check out my brother's place. Maybe I will take the boy with me."

"And have a _talk_." Kate emphasises her last word.

"Yeah, that too. Where is Jack by the way?"

"O, he tagged along with Abby…"

"What?! How could you have allowed them to be alone, considering the still clearly visible evidence of what happened the last time they were left by themselves."

"Gibbs, this is a military base. Abby can't really get into any mischief here."

"Oh, I'm not worried about her," Gibbs muttered, as he walked toward Tony. Kate raised a questioning eyebrow at his comment, but followed him without a word. "DiNozzo."

"Yes Boss?"

"Have you seen Jack or Abby? Did you see where they went?" Tony shook his head, but before he could answer, Ducky chimed in.

"They went to see the F-15s." Ducky settled comfortably on some of their luggage, and straightened out his legs before him. "Ah, I remember when I started to work in that small military hospital close to Brighton. One time…"

"Ducky!" Gibbs' growl stopped the newest anecdote. "Which way did they go?"

"Toward those hangers." Ducky pointed towards some of the buildings. "But to which one, I don't know. I'm sorry Jethro, but my eyes aren't as good as they used to be. There was time I could spot a sparrow from fifty feet…"

"Thanks Ducky. DiNozzo, Kate with me." Kate flashed an apologetic smile toward Ducky, before hurrying after her two companions, but she noticed there was an amused twinkle in the old man's eyes. She frowned, and made a mental note to ask him later.

--------------

General Hammond was deep in paperwork when a knock alerted him to Walter Harriman's presence. Walter looked a bit flushed, excitement shining in his blue eyes.

"What is it, Walter?"

"Sir, Captain Tyler just reported that NCIS arrived, and Colonel O'Neill is with them."

"Thank you, Walter. Please call back the Captain, and give him the rest of the day off."

"Yes sir." He was about to leave, when he remembered something. "Sir, Doctor Fraiser asked for the rest of the day off." Hammond raised a questioning eyebrow. "She told me she wanted to take Cassie shopping."

"Alright. You are dismissed." It suddenly occurred to him how calm his day had been so far. A tiny bit of suspicion started to form in his mind. "Oh, Walter, I didn't see Major Carter or Doctor Jackson for some time now. You wouldn't happen to know where they could be, would you?" Walter looked in his eyes, and for a moment, Hammond could have sworn that a tiny smile played on the Sergeant's lips.

"Major Carter expressed her intent to join Doctor Frasier, sir," Walter reporter, his voice as professional as ever.

"Did she now?"

George knew he shouldn't be too surprised, as his suspicion was proven right. Walter nodded in confirmation as he continued. "Doctor Jackson volunteered to be their driver, as both Majors' cars broke down."

"Yes, such incidents do happen every day."

"And Teal'c declared he would protect them from the outside world. He wanted to took take his staff weapon, but Doctor Jackson managed to talk him out of it."

"I see." George nodded with a fatherly smile on his face. "They couldn't wait until tomorrow then." Walter remained silent, but inwardly, he agreed with the General. "Very well, dismissed, Sergeant," Hammond said.

"Yes Sir."

------------

Jack risked a glance toward his brother. Jethro had always looked more like their father, but now the similarity was frightening. For a moment there, he felt like he was watching his father's emotionless face and cold blue eyes. He felt a shiver run down his spin, and unconsciously adopted Daniel's self-hugging posture. His skinny arms snaked around his chest and he hugged himself in the vain hope to keep the cold away. He leaned his head back to the backseat's warm cushion, and closed his eyes, enjoying the pleasant sunlight on his face.

_Only __a little sunshine reached through the treetops. In one of the ray's warm light stood Jack, with his eyes closed, as he cherished every moment of it. His side hurt, he was hungry, and the chilly air started to affect his aching body; his fingers started to feel cold first, then his nose and ears. But now he could almost feel the warmth seep into his chilled bones, warming up his body. _

_A faint tinkling noise disturbed his sunbathing, if you can call it that. His brown eyes snapped open, his attention switched fully to his surroundings. He blinked. There was nothing for a few moments, before he heard the jingling noise again. It sounded from somewhere close. His body tensed, his mind kicked back into full mission mode. Everything else, his cold and aching body became unimportant._

_Jack listened carefully, trying to pinpoint where the noise came from. It was his best clue since he had lost sight of his father's track a few hours ago. There was the noise again, it sounded from farther away, as if the source was moving away from his position. His eyes narrowed as he tried to pinpoint the direction from which the noise came. _

_Then he started to move toward the jingling noise. As he got closer, he could feel his heart starting to speed up. His mouth and lips felt dry, and it was hard to swallow. His senses were on high alert. He tried to move in the high weed as silently as he could, but despite his every effort, often twigs snapped under his feet, giving away his position. _

_Then there was silence again. He stopped to listen for any clues. First he couldn't hear anything through his own harsh breathing and thundering heartbeat. A few calming breaths helped to calm himself down, but even then he couldn't hear the tinkle of his target. _

_On the other hand, he did notice a faint rustling sound coming from his left. He hurriedly kneeled down behind a smaller bush to conceal his presence. He waited and listened; his brown eyes searched for the source of the rustling noise, although in his mind, he already knew who it was, before he could spot his brother's familiar form. Jethro's light brown hair stuck up in every direction, making Jack self-conscious, and he reached up and patted his own unruly locks. Jethro's face was dirty, his clothes a bit torn and mudded.__Jack watched as Jethro slowly advanced forward, his blue eyes glinted with determination. _

_Jethro moved closer to the small clearing that Jack, himself had already spotted before the jingling had stopped. Jack licked his dry lips, before moving to follow the older boy. He knew he shouldn't stray too far, if he want the chance to take the bell before Jethro. Even though he knew they were an even match when it came to fighting - with Jethro's solid, more muscular frame, he could easily overpower Jack, and Jack could trust on his more slim, athletic build to aid him with speed and agility - they never really fought outside. _

_Jack kept an eye on Jethro's progress, while he scanned the clearing. He easily spotted the bell, hanging on a tree branch, and it was suspiciously easy to get it. His father's absence just sent up further red flags in his mind. He suddenly felt like someone was watching him. He stood rooted to his spot, and didn't dare to look around, out of fear to alert his watcher. _

_Jethro moved toward the bell, like he didn't care or notice the possible trap or their watcher. Maybe Jack was just imagining things, just his nerves acting up. A faint rustle caught his attention however, and his neck snapped to his right. He saw something, someone. Was it Dad? I mean Father? The shadow moved toward Jethro as he got closer to the bell. If he let Father catch Jethro, Jack would have time to get the bell. But Father could easily overpower Jethro and catch him as well. On the other hand if he helped Jethro, they maybe had a tiny chance to get the man down. But what would stop Jethro to get the bell after that? Argh. He had a headache, and too much thinking didn't help_.

Jack jerked awake when Jethro took a sharp turn, jarring his body. For a moment he didn't know where he was. His mind was foggy, as he blinked his sleepy eyes open. He frowned. He couldn't recall the last time he woke in such a state; his military training and lifestyle had trained him to be fully alert after waking. It disturbed him greatly.

His frown deepened as he saw a familiar building rush past him. Then a cold feeling settled in the pit of his stomach when he recognized the street. Why he hadn't recognized it until then was a mystery. Only two streets down, about six minutes away was the street where his home stood.

"Where are we going?"

"To your house. I thought we can pick up a few of your things while we are here." _'More likely snoop around,'_ muttered a bitter voice in Jack's mind. He couldn't place his bitterness; they were getting along so fine. "Jack, I wanted to ask you something."

"Yeah?" Jack could feel he wouldn't like this conversation.

"Your father, was he… ? What was he like?"

"He was…" His father's cold blue eyes flashed before his eyes. "Dad." He shrugged even though he knew Jethro couldn't see his reaction.

"Did he ever teach you how to hike? My Dad, your Grandfather always took us to the woods." _ 'Smooth, Jethro, really smooth._' Jack started to see which direction this conversation was going. His subtle displays of his knowledge and abilities, it seemed hadn't been subtle enough.

"We went up to the cabin in Minnesota. Fishing is nice." Jack watched Jethro's reflection in the rear view mirror.

"And did he teach you how to track? A deer, a rabbit?" _'A human?' _went unasked, but it clearly rang in Jack's mind. It stung a bit to know Jethro would think he was like their father. Of course, despite their blood connection and mutual past, they weren't much more than strangers to each other.

"Yep, a few times. We caught a rabbit once. It was all white, with big red eyes. We let it go. Daddy said it wouldn't like to live in our home," slipping into his by now familiar role was easier than dealing with his own feelings. He saw relief flash through Jethro's eyes at his answer. "I didn't mind, I wanted a dog. They are our favourite persons."

Gibbs' mouth twitched upward; his blue eyes twinkled. "I bet that's your Dad's saying too."

"Ya sure, you betcha."

-----------

Harry Maybourne slowly eased his way into the house. Saying it was hard to break in Jack O'Neill's home would be exaggerating, because O'Neill didn't lock his doors, and even if he would, his locks wouldn't keep out a three-year-old. He walked into the house. It looked like nobody was home. _'Ah, well he would just wait for Jack. O'Neill always kept good beers around,' _he mused. He was so engrossed in his thoughts, that he didn't notice when someone stepped up behind him Suddenly his arm was grabbed from behind, and twisted it upward, while a gun was pressed to the back of his head.

"Ah Jack, that's not the way you welcome old friends."

"I'm not Jack," snarled a strangely familiar, yet still unknown voice. Harry noticed the voice sounded similar to Jack's, but the speaker wasn't O'Neill.

"Are you sure? This greeting was just like him," Harry quipped, while he tried to figure out who his attacker could be. The man huffed in annoyance and pressed his gun closer to Harry's skull.

"Who are you, and what are you doing in my brother's house?"

"Brother? What brother? I thought Jack was an only child."

"You aren't the only one," muttered the stranger, more to himself than to Harry. "But let's talk about you, before I decide you annoy me too much and I just shoot you."

"That sounded strangely O'Neill-like." Harry knew the man wasn't joking and most probably would shoot him, if he didn't start speaking. Oh well. "As I said, I am an old friend. I was on a business trip in the nearby town, and thought, why shouldn't I say 'Hi' to Jack. You know, we should just sit down, have a drink, or at least if you could, stop pointing your gun at me."

"And what type of business you are involved Mr…?"

"Hutch. Pesticide company." The man snorted, and a hand started to search him for weapons and such. His beloved Glock was taken from him, as well as his wallet, before he was released. He didn't mind the wallet too much; it was one of his fake ones anyway, but the gun… That piece of metal had saved his life so many times since he was on the run, which was now 10 months, 15 days, 6 hours and 9 seconds; but really, who's counting? His gun was held up for him to see, but he couldn't reach it while his attacker's gun was pressed deeper into his side.

"Parasite busters? With a Glock?"

"What can I say, you should see how big some of the rats are. Can I turn around now?"

"Just slowly and hold your hands where I can see them at all times. Anything suspicious and I will…"

"Shoot me, yeah I know." Harry turned around to see the man who could sneak up behind him. He first noticed the man's greying brown hair, and piercing blue eyes. The man's gun was significantly lowered, but it was still aimed toward him. One wrong movement on his part could easily cause his early demise, no doubt about it. The man was studying Harry's fake ID, his face didn't really betray his feelings; only the slightest twitch of his lips and frown could give him away if someone really knew him. Hard blue eyes looked up at him, and he felt like the man could see his soul, could feel if he was lying, even before he uttered a lie.

"So Mr_ Hutch,_ do sit down and tell me to what do I owe this visit." The man emphasised his name with such a mocking voice, which clearly stated he didn't believe in Harry's story, and this man reminded him again of Jack. It was a bit disconcerting, to say the least.

He sat as instructed, while studying the man more intensely. He deducted that the man was most probably ex-military. But he could not place the man, neither his face nor his claim as O'Neill's brother. He would swear to every deity, be it false or not, he had never heard or read anything about O'Neill's brother. And believe him, when he said, he would know of it.

He had spent his NID years searching compromising, blackmail material on and about the SGC's staff, and especially it's commanding officers. Information such as a brother wouldn't have escaped his notice. After all, even Hammond had seen the light when his granddaughters' lives were on the line. Not that he approved of such a thing; it was a bit below his standards. He had his morals, not many, but a few nonetheless.

"And who would you be? Don't get me wrong, but I've never heard about you. And at the moment, I don't trust you." Harry's gaze significantly flickered toward the man's gun. The silver haired man frowned, before he pulled out his badge from his pocket, flashing it toward Harry to see, before he pocketed it again.

"Special Agent Jethro Gibbs, NCIS. And as for why you don't know about me, let's just say, it's not your business." The second half was more a snarl than anything else, as Gibbs stepped closer to Harry.

Maybourne marvelled at how good the man's intimidation techniques worked. Even he himself, knowing Gibbs' tactic, couldn't help but pull back from the man, to try to back away. It was impressive. "And now start talking before I loose my patience and arrest you."

--------

"Hutch?" an amused boyish voice called his attention to his right. Gibbs had told him to leave a couple of minutes ago, and Harry had decided to go round the back. There stood, casually leaning to the wall, a small, honey colour haired boy, whose chocolate brown eyes glittered with amusement. The boy's features looked slightly familiar to him, but he really couldn't place where he had seen him before. His expression must have betrayed his confusion, because the kid chuckled. "Why, Harry, I'm hurt. You don't recognise your old pal Starsky?"

Harry's mouth dropped open in his shock, as the last piece of his puzzle clicked into place. The report was talking about O'Neill, and it meant the top secret project 'ReVivo' involved Jack. "Oh Christ."

"Well no, I'm Jack." The boy, Jack, smirked, his voice sounded childish while his tone gave it a sarcastic, mocking edge, just as he remembered how O'Neill's used to be. "Why are you here, Harry?" Jack's voice transformed to all business in a blink of an eye.

"I had something for you…" Harry trailed off, as he looked over the changed body. "What happened to you?"

"Ya know, the usual, we went, we saw, Daniel touched something and voila."

"Your brother said you died."

"He thinks I am dead." There was silence between them for a short time, both of them engrossed in their own thoughts. "So Harry, will you tell me why you are here, or should I start guessing?"

"The NID is after you."

"What's new?" Jack quipped

"They will try to kidnap you."

"They already tried," Jack chimed in happily.

"Jack!" Harry growled impatiently. "They won't just give up and leave you alone because of one failed attempt."

"I know." The boyish voice sounded grave and far too old, even for someone of Jack's real age.

"I found a project. It's called 'ReVivo', it's Latin, it means…"

"Re-Live." Harry arched an eyebrow in surprise, he nodded and continued as if he hadn't been interrupted.

"They want to find out how the 'object' was de-aged, how to generate the condition without side-effects and try to controlling the age loss."

"This information confirms what we already suspected."

"There is more." Jack arched an eyebrow as a silent question. "I managed to track it back to one of Kinsey's contacts. I worked with them before. That guy didn't do anything without Kinsey's order." Jack snorted and shook his head, as he marvelled at how far Kinsey would go. Jack opened his mouth to answer when a faint noise caught his ears.

----------

Jack's small body tensed up for a moment, he cocked his head to his side like he was listening to something which was inaudible for Harry. Maybourne watched astonished as Jack's whole posture and facial expression changed. The soldier transformed to a child before his eyes; where before cold calculating eyes had been, now innocence radiated from the brown orbs, where Jack's stance had been ready to pounce on the tiniest sign of danger just minutes before, it now had a carefree and innocent aura. "Uncle Gibbs?!" called Jack, Harry marvelled how even his voice reflected this change.

"Jack! Where are you?" called Gibbs from inside the house.

"I'm in the back."

"Hurry, we need to meet my team."

"I'm coming." Jack turned back one last time toward Harry. "If you have anything else, call Gibbs. Here is his number." He tossed a white plastic card toward Harry who caught it easily.

"Oh, and Jack, they are planning something in Springs too."

Jack nodded his understanding, and without turning back, or giving any verbal answer, Jack strolled inside the house. Harry watched him go, before he turned the card in his hand. It was Gibbs' business card alright. He heard Jack's childish voice say something inside the house. But he didn't listen in on their conversation; he turned and walked away from the house.

* * *

_Hope you liked the chspter. Thanks for reading and reviewing.  
_


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